Before Rhetta could take control, Caroline flipped her flat on her back, knocking her pillow – and the phone it hid – off the bed in the process.
Rhetta blinked up at Caroline in surprise. Her hands were trapped above her head and Caroline’s weight atop her hips held her fast. It would never cease to amaze her just how fast Caroline could move when she wanted to.
“Not so fast, Princess,” Caroline growled.
Rhetta gulped and struggled a little beneath her, trying and failing to tug her hands free. It wasn’t exactly what she had had in mind, but she was even more turned on than she had been before.
“Caro,” she whined, rolling her hips to see just how secure Caroline’s seat was. If she really wanted, she could have freed herself, she decided. Caroline was only a little stronger than her, and Caroline knew it. If Rhetta was trapped beneath her, it was because she chose to be.
Caroline’s eyes glinted with mischief. “Hush, Princess. You’ll get your workout. Right after I get mine.”
* * *
“Good morning, beautiful,” Caroline sing-songed, somehow managing not to sound corny. “Happy not-quite-Valentine’s Day!”
Rhetta blinked awake, brushing her messy hair from her eyes and squinting at Caroline in the too-bright morning light. She sat up and pulled the bedsheet up around her bare chest. She wasn’t shy around Caroline, but it never hurt to keep a little mystery. “You made me breakfast?”
“Well no… I went to the breakfast room and put together a tray…” Caroline admitted sheepishly. She twiddled one of her feet nervously against the carpet. “I doubt that they’d have just let me into the kitchen... especially when I can’t speak a word of French.”
She looked so cute standing there with the tray in her hands and hair tucked behind her ears that Rhetta can’t help but giggle at her.
“You’re cute, you know that?” She dropped the bedsheet.
Caroline blushed and handed her the tray. “Don’t tell, but I sneaked into the regular person’s breakfast room and stole you a pastry.”
The pastry was barely bigger than an orange, but it still felt like an extravagance. Rhetta giggled and pulled Caroline in for a kiss. “You bad girl, you. Why don’t you come back to bed and share?”
Caroline kicked off her shoes and ran around to the other side of the bed, burrowing beneath the covers and snuggling up to Rhetta. “I was hoping you’d say that!”
“Such a cutie,” Rhetta said again as she cut the little pastry in two. When she offered half up to Caroline, her fiancée shook her head.
“Nope, all the good stuff is for you because you’re perfect,” Caroline said a little more seriously than she had intended.
Rhetta dropped the pastry and kissed Caroline soft and slow. “You’re perfect. What did I ever do to deserve you?”
Caroline smiled. “Looked at me with those big brown eyes of yours.”
It reminded Rhetta of how they had only been just a few weeks before that they had admitted just how instantly they had fallen in love. It was a wonder that they’d even met. If the two of them hadn’t picked up soccer balls when they were tiny…
“Seven billion people in the world and I was lucky enough to meet you,” Rhetta breathed, her heartbeat suddenly quickening. It all suddenly seems so tangential and she worries that it could be taken away, that time could rewind and send them on courses that would cause them never to meet.
“You and me, we’re meant to be,” Caroline said confidently. “7 billion people in the world and my soul finds yours. That’s fate.”
Rhetta’s stomach fluttered. “Soulmates. We’re soulmates.”
Caroline smiled and kissed her forehead. It was soft and gentle and somehow more intimate than any kiss that they had ever shared. Rhetta shivered.
“Are you cold?” Caroline asked, already jumping out of bed to find Rhetta something to put on.
“No.” Rhetta grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “You keep me warm.”
It was sappy and clichéd but Rhetta didn’t care. It was true. Being with Caroline made her heart full and warm. It made her happier than she had ever imagined that she could be. Not that had never imagined that she would be happy, because she had. Her parents had seen to that. She had just never imagined that this level of happiness – this complete and utter bliss at being with the person that you loved – could even exist.
They ate their breakfast in comfortable silence and when they were done Rhetta dropped the tray down by the side of their bed. Then she crawled into Caroline’s arms and pulled the sheets up around them.
Caroline laughed softly and nuzzled her nose against Rhetta’s. “Don’t you want your presents?”
“Right now I just want this. Being here with you.”
Caroline reached out for her phone and set an alarm. It was a game that they played at home sometimes. Caroline would try to wake Rhetta up, only to be pulled back into bed and snuggled. Of course she would relent, but she would set an alarm. Rhetta could snuggle her all she wanted, but when the alarm went off, they would have to get up.
“How long do we have?” Rhetta asked as she leant her forehead against Caroline’s.
“Until 10.” Caroline kissed her softly. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Our wedding.” Rhetta was grinning, her eyes closed in contentment.
Caroline laughed. “I thought that you might.”
* * *
When Caroline came out of the bathroom, towelling dry her shower-wet hair, she found Rhetta sat cross-legged and eager on their freshly made bed.
“I’m ready for my presents,” Rhetta grinned.
“Oh really, you’re ready now are you?” Caroline sassed, tossing her towel just right of Rhetta. Her fiancée was already ready and she knew that if she actually hit her with the wet towel, there would be hell to pay. “See I was ready this morning. Now… Now I’m not so sure that I am ready. Maybe in a couple of hours, give or take…”
Rhetta’s eyes were glinting. “Nuh uh.”
Caroline squinted in mock confusion. “’Nuh uh’..?”
Rhetta pouted.
Caroline grinned and pulled out her suitcase from beneath the bed. “Alright, Princess. Hold that bottom lip of yours. ”
She pulled out two gift bags and put the larger on the bed in front of Rhetta. “This one is just something pretty because, well, I know that you’ve been cutting down on your shopping to help save up for the wedding…”
Rhetta sighed and tilted her head to the side, giving Caroline ‘the look’. “I get to marry you, don’t I? That’s worth a little cutting back.”
“I know, and it’s nothing too extravagant. I just…” It was Caroline’s turn to sigh now. As good as their life was, sometimes she couldn’t help but wish that she had a little more money to spoil Rhetta as much as she deserved to be spoiled.
“Caro,” Rhetta admonished gently, making Caroline’s cheeks redden. “Thank you.”
Caroline shrugged, a little embarrassed. “You don’t even know what it is yet.”
The reminder that there were presents to be unwrapped made Rhetta squeal as she reached for the first gift bag. It was large and pink with a tissue paper-hidden exterior and a gift tag that read:
To my Princess.
What’s hot, stylish and never goes out of fashion?
Your forever Valentine,
Caroline
xxx
Rhetta frowned. “A riddle? Really? You know how much I hate these things.”
When she saw that all she was going to get out of Caroline was a grin, Rhetta pulled away the tissue paper and found a little note nestled amongst black fabric.
The answer: You in a little black dress.
Happy Valentine’s Day, beautiful. xxx
“Awww, baby!” Rhetta squealed, tugging Caroline by the collar of her freshly donned shirt for a kiss. Caroline just continued to grin as Rhetta pulled out the dress, her jaw dropping slightly at the sight of it. She always knew that Caroline had goo
d taste – exquisitely good taste – but this was something else. It was the single most beautiful dress that Rhetta had ever seen.
“I was hoping that you would wear it for me tonight,” Caroline said, trying to sound charming whilst her heart pounded waiting to hear what Rhetta thought of the dress.
Rhetta immediately put the dress on the bed beside them and pulled Caroline in for a deep, heated kiss. “Only if you promise to take it off me at the end of the night.”
Caroline’s heart skipped a beat. She would have to withhold sex more often if it made Rhetta so forward.
“You like it then?” she asked hopefully.
“It’s gorgeous,” Rhetta enthused, lifting up the dress again to appreciate its elegance and style. And the low neckline. She expected nothing else from an Caroline wardrobe pick.
“Phew!” Caroline exclaimed, dramatically wiping non-existent sweat from her forehead.
“Like you’ve ever bought me clothes that I didn’t like,” Rhetta chuckled.
“Well there was that one-”
“That did not count as clothes, Caro,” Rhetta cut her off sternly. Though she had worn the offending item in the end. When Caroline had least been expecting it.
“Whatever you say, Princess.”
Rhetta rolled her eyes, despite her amusement.
“Don’t forget your other present,” Caroline held out the second gift bag. “This one is a little bit more special.”
The second gift bag was definitely smaller. Smaller and black. Which only meant one thing from Caroline.
“Please tell me that you didn’t buy me expensive jewellery again,” Rhetta sighed, secretly wishing that Caroline had, despite the unwiseness of such an extravagant purchase.
Caroline didn’t answer, instead just letting Rhetta pull out the jewellery box and open it up. Rhetta’s brow creased as she lifted out a long, plain and unadorned gold chain. Caroline pulled out a matching chain from her pocket and held it out for Rhetta to see.
“As soon as I found out that I would be starting in the next two matches, I realised that I’d have to take my engagement ring off. It isn’t safe to wear it beneath my glove, but I couldn’t stand the idea of stepping out onto the field without it. So I came up with these. They’re long enough that the rings can be slipped under our shirts and no one’ll see them. Only we’ll know they’re there.” As Caroline finished she noticed that Rhetta’s eyes were filling up with tears. “Is – is that okay, R?”
With a beautiful smile, Rhetta slipped the chain around her neck, seeing that it naturally fell to just over her heart. It reminded her of the wings that they used to wear, making her barely held in tears spill over onto her freshly made-up cheeks.
Caroline sat up onto her knees and gently brushed the tears from Rhetta’s cheeks. Her thumb brushed over the soft skin and her hand cupped Rhetta’s jaw, tilting up her head for a soft kiss. The differences in their stances exaggerated the small height difference between them, making Caroline tower over her in a way that made Rhetta feel safe and loved.
“It’s perfect,” she breathed against Caroline’s feather-soft kisses. “It’s perfect.”
* * *
They spent the afternoon wandering around a little French town a few miles away from their hotel. The old stone buildings looked untouched by the ages and Rhetta found herself once again longing to live in Europe. If she could bring all of her family and friends with her, she would do it. Even if it meant leaving a league that she so desperately believed in.
“This is bliss,” she sighed as she took a sip of dark, rich coffee. They were sat at a mosaic and iron table at the edge of a little stone square, drinking good coffee and listening to the lilting of a string band playing to the early crowd at a restaurant across the square. This, of all things in life, was Rhetta’s idea of bliss. Coffee, culture and Caroline.
She watched Caroline take a sip from her cup. She was so gorgeous in moments like this. It reminded Rhetta of stolen moments in Frankfurt and mornings in Sweden, sat around the table with Farah, Perinnel and Lavender. Those memories were so far apart in their relationship. One just at the beginning and the other well into a time when they shared everything with each other. They had come such a long way in such a short period of time, regardless of what life had thrown at them. Maybe because of it.
“I’ve missed this,” Caroline agreed, turning her sunglasses-clad eyes to Rhetta and smiling softly. They did this all the time when they were in DC. Drunk coffee in little bistros, walked languidly through markets and sometimes museums. Caroline was a big kid at heart and Rhetta loved watching her face light up as she gazed at thousand year old mummies and replicas of space rockets.
“I’m looking forward to being back home,” Rhetta said. “It’s been such a long time.”
Thinking that Rhetta meant her dad’s place, Caroline nodded. “It’ll sure be fun to catch up with poppa Morsten.”
Rhetta rolled her eyes and smiled. “I mean our home, silly. The one that we haven’t spent more than one night together in since December.”
Caroline decided that if there was ever a time to be cheesy it was (fake) Valentine’s Day. “You’re my home.”
Cheesy but true. There were two places on earth that she felt truly at home: the soccer field and anywhere with Rhetta.
“Someone’s in a sappy mood today,” Rhetta smiled, watching Caroline through the steam of her coffee. She winked at her. “I like it.”
When their coffees were finished, they walked hand in hand around the little town. Rhetta felt more relaxed than she had in months. Everything was coming together for them, both professionally and personally. And the lines between those two things were blurring more and more as Caroline became so inextricably part of both of them. She was thinking about how perfect that was when Caroline pulled her into a sun splashed alley and kissed her up against a yellow stone building. As far as moments went, Rhetta thought that it was pretty damn perfect.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The ride back to the hotel was heavy with the loss. Full of sadness and anger. Each woman went over her plays, wondering what she could have done differently. Wondering how she could have turned their loss into a win. But not Caroline. She had conceded goals, but that hadn’t lost them the game. She had played well. Without her, they wouldn’t just have lost. They would have been crushed.
When the coach finally pulled up outside their hotel, Rhetta was one of the first to jump to her feet, grab her bag and leave. Farah met Caroline’s eyes across the aisle and she winced in sympathy. Rhetta was pissed and everyone knew it. What they didn’t know was why. Rhetta was usually the first to shrug off a tough loss, but this time her anger had only seemed to increase as she brooded in her coach seat, glaring at her phone.
By the time Caroline caught up with her, Rhetta was already in their room, sat tensely on the edge of their bed. It was clear from the set of her jaw that she didn’t want to talk. Caroline had learnt that lesson the loud way over the years.
“I’ll be outside when you’re done brooding,” Caroline said shortly as she brushed past Rhetta and headed for the balcony doors. She was usually pretty good at giving Rhetta the time she needed to calm down when she was upset, but this time it just made her angry. If anyone should be pissed about the loss it should be her. She was the one that everyone would blame. Rhetta was pretty much off the hook.
Rhetta snorted and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, you do that.”
Caroline’s grip on the balcony door handle tightened. “Really? I’m the one you’re pissed at? Awesome, R. That’s just really fucking awesome.”
“I’m pissed at myself!” Rhetta shouted. Her words echoed in the room but she was too angry to care about whether their neighbours would hear them.
Caroline frowned so deeply that Rhetta would have found in amusing if she hadn’t been so enraged. “What the fuck, R?”
“We played like shit!” Rhetta bit. “We sucked. We deserved to lose. Hell, we deserve to have lost by a lot more than we
did.”
“If everyone played like shit then why are you pissed at yourself? You pissed that you even contemplated letting the world know that we’re supposed to be getting married?” Caroline heard her voice tremble as the insecurity left her lips. They had been over it before but she couldn’t help the way her mind worked. She couldn’t help the dark things from surfacing. She couldn’t help it if she was 100% sure and confident of Rhetta’s love one day and utterly doubtful of it the next.
The word ‘supposed’ cut into Rhetta’s chest like a knife. It would never stop hurting her that Caroline would probably always doubt them. That her past would make her think that she wasn’t worthy of Rhetta or the future that she dreamed of for them.
“I’m pissed that we made you look bad!” Rhetta yelled at the top of her lungs. “That I made you look bad!”
Her words rung in Caroline’s ears, pulsing along with the beat of her heart.
“I’m pissed that we left you exposed again and again, but I’m even more fucking pissed at what those fucking know it all commentators said about you! How dare they!?”
Caroline felt a wave of hurt as she remembered some of the commentators’ choicest remarks, followed immediately with all-consuming love that that was what had Rhetta so enraged.
Sam had been watching the game back home and had text a string of the commentators’ comments – not all about Caroline, but mostly – to Rhetta throughout the game. She had read them out in the locker room, wanting everyone to know what had been said by people who were supposed to be professionals. Ever since she had read those words, the frustration that Rhetta had been feeling from their loss had turned to black, furious anger.
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