Chapter Text
Christen tries to remind herself that it wasn’t always like this. Their relationship didn’t always consist of apparent absences and cold sheets. She tries to convince herself that the slowly but surely expanding hole in her stomach was once filled with something, something solid and special, something that couldn’t have been stolen away this easily.
This has been going on for far too long, Christen realizes. Nights spent building up arguments in her head, lying to herself in order to justify Tobin’s actions that have lead her to this emotional turmoil. She knows that what they had is ruined, she knows it, she’s acknowledged it, but she just can’t accept it. The only thought she can process is that Tobin isn’t here, and it’s her own arms wrapped around her body instead of the familiar, tan ones she’s used to.
It’s her own flowery perfume that she smells on the pillowcases, not Tobin’s vanilla one.
And, worst of all, for the first time in months, it’s her own hands that brush away the tears that escape her eyes.
Not Tobin’s.
---
Christen Press doesn’t get things because she wants them.
She gets them because, when there’s something on her mind that she has interest in, she works her ass off for it. It’s something that she’s always done. Whether it be her tending to people’s lawns and pets for two whole summers in order to make money for a soccer net in the backyard, or her covering her sister’s chores for three months straight in order to get a trip to the beach. She gets what she wants in the end, no matter how much effort.
So, that’s how she gets where she is, boarding a plane for her flight to Florida. The things she strives for have lost their childish element, and now, after months of saving up money, she’s finally leaving her hometown and going out on her own.
Well, sort of.
She’ll be living in a new place, yes. The change in scenery is going to be quite drastic, Christen thinks. Instead of being surrounded by beautiful, sunny California, she’ll be living in the sticky humidity of southern Florida. But, she’s not going to be alone.
Alex Morgan, one of her closest friends, has offered her a room in her cramped but homey apartment, along with another girl whose name Christen isn’t aware of. The idea may not come off as that appealing, but Christen knows that living with a friend will be good for her. Plus, she gets her own room and the rent cost is split three ways. She doesn’t see anything to complain about.
As she climbs onto the plane and plugs in her headphones, the last thing that crosses her mind before she falls asleep is all of the potential she sees in this grand idea of hers. She drifts off with a brief smile, turning up the volume and relaxing her body.
---
The minute Christen steps through the door of the rainy airport, she spots Alex.
“Alex!” the darker haired girl squeals, nearly knocking her over in her attempt at a hug.
She’s just like she remembers: long chestnut hair, toned muscle, golden skin tone, and to top it all off, the same pearly white smile that Christen could pick out in any crowd. It hits her quickly how much she missed her.
“Hey, how was the plane ride?” Alex asks, wrapping her arms around Christen tightly and then stepping back to look her in the face. “You didn’t get kicked off for being too obnoxious or anything?”
Christen rolls her eyes. “It was fine,” she replies, setting her bag down and pulling out the handle. “Where’s your car?”
Alex leads them to her car. As they walk, Christen drinks in her surroundings: the tall palm trees, the busy streets, the busy everything. Not to say that California in itself wasn’t busy, but the part she lived in was somewhat sheltered from the rest.
She can’t help but feel a bit grown up, too. Before this, the closest thing she got to going anywhere by herself was a weekend away with her sister, and obviously she hadn’t been alone for much of it. It seems a bit unreal, having packed up and left her home for a place on the opposite side of the country, but it excites her all the same.
They get in the car and Alex turns the volume up, blasting whatever is on the radio. She laughs lightly as Alex pumps her arms in the air to the beat of the song for a moment before attaching them to the steering wheel and backing out of the parking space.
When they’re on the main road, she begins to hit Christen with the questions (when did you decide to leave, how did your family take it, how is your family, etc.). She gives simple answers, asking similar questions in return. She’s only half-listening, eyes focused on the blur of colors outside of her window, until Alex asks a question that catches her attention.
“So, I assume you’re finished with that boy you had been telling me about a few weeks ago?”
“Oh,” Christen deadpans, trying to remember who she could have been talking about.
Alex seems to misinterpret this response. “Shit, sorry, Chris,” she says with a frown. “I didn’t realize it ended badly.”
“No, no,” Christen assures her, “it’s not that. Yeah, we’re over, but it was more of a mutual thing. It ended a while ago.”
The light-haired girl nods with relief, focusing her eyes on the road ahead of them. After a few more minutes of driving with the blaring music, she pulls into the parking garage of the apartment. Christen retrieves her bag from the trunk and wheels it behind her as she follows Alex inside.
It’s an average apartment, as Christen expected. They enter a plain door into the living room, brown paint from top to bottom and a stone fireplace on the wall opposite the entry way. It’s tight, but everything looks fairly new and she can tell Alex put a lot of work into cleaning the place up for her arrival. She appreciates that.
“It’s cute,” Christen tells her, earning a smile from Alex.
Though there’s not much more to see, Alex gives her a mini tour of the remaining rooms in the apartment. Christen is impressed with the eagerness in Alex’s demeanor. She thinks it’s adorable that her best friend has made her feel welcome in a completely new area of her life, just with simple gestures like these.
Her bedroom is a good size, only a bit smaller than the one in California. She places her bag down on the bed and falls backwards onto the sheets that smell of fresh detergent.
Alex has to run out to the store to get a few things, so Christen has time to get settled in and unpack. She opens the bag and pulls out the framed picture of her and her dog back home.
With a smile, she places it on her night table, and though she feels a twinge of sadness, she knows that coming here is going to have a positive effect on her life.
---
Christen and Alex go out for ice cream that night. They catch each other up on everything new in their lives, and it really begins to feel like old times for Christen. It makes her feel warm inside.
“You know they have a local soccer team around here,” Alex tells her, licking the side of her cone to prevent the ice cream from dripping onto her lap. “My roommate and I are both on it. You should join. I’m sure you still have those skills from back in high school, Press.”
She chuckles lightly at being addressed by her last name. “Yeah, maybe,” she agrees.
The idea doesn’t sound half-bad, really. She doesn’t have a job yet, which is gonna leave her with a lot of free time for a while. And, though she’s not going to admit it to Alex, she still practices soccer a lot on the side. She just hasn’t played with anyone in a while, which would be fun if she joined the team.
They finish up their ice creams and watch the sunset from behind the restaurant. When the colors have all faded into a dark blue, they get in Sydney’s car and drive back to the apartment.
As soon as they walk inside, Christen nearly has a heart attack.
A girl is sitting on the couch, feet propped up on the coffee table, hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. She has a bowl of popcorn balanced on one leg and the remote on the other, eyes fixed ahead on the television. Christen relaxes when she remembers that one, Alex has a roommate that she’s mentioned previously, and two, if someone had broken into the apartment, she doubts they would have popped a bag of popcorn and plopped down to watch an episode of whatever the hell is on the screen.
But, then again, Christen hasn’t been acquainted with any burglars, so she wouldn’t exactly know. It’s just a guess.
“Tobin,” Alex says to get the girl’s attention. She whips her head around, mouth stuffed with popcorn. Her eyes move away from Alex and quickly over to Christen, and realization surfaces within the two brown pools.
“Oh-!” Tobin breathes, half to herself as she rises from the couch. “Shit, yeah, I forgot that we were getting the new roommate tonight!”
Christen can’t help but smile at the way Tobin walks over, a goofy grin on her face. She extends her hand and Christen takes it without hesitation.
“I’m Tobin,” she introduces herself. She’s dressed in a loose shirt and athletic shorts, and Christen can’t help but notice how good she looks in such plain attire. Built like a soccer player, too, she thinks to herself as her eyes sweep over her athletic build.
She vaguely reminds Christen of someone she met a long time ago, but she pushes the thought away and introduces herself in turn.
“Christen,” she says, biting the inside of her cheek. For some reason, the idea of living here gets much more exciting with the knowledge of who she’ll be sharing the apartment with. She’s known Tobin for all of two minutes, but the bold and interesting personality seems to radiate off of the girl.
Tobin closes her lips and nods, winks at Christen. “You’ll enjoy living here. Alex is a great roommate,” she adds, shooting a smile towards the brown-haired girl’s direction.
“You only say that because I cook for you and clean up after you,” Alex replies, turning and walking down the hall into the bathroom. Christen catches onto the familiar sarcastic tone she uses, though, and laughs slightly.
“Well, yeah, but our mini soccer games in the parking lot also enhance the experience,” Tobin calls after her. The sound of a door closing is the only response they get to that, and Tobin shrugs.
“I’m not as bad as she makes me out to be,” Tobin says to her before disappearing into her room.
---
That night, Christen has trouble sleeping. She tosses and turns numerous times before finally deciding to plug in a pair of headphones and tapping her screen until she finds the relaxing soundtracks that she downloaded prior to getting on the plane.
They work to help relax her, but she still feels homesick deep down. It takes another hour of switching positions on the bed before she’s finally able to fall asleep, but it seems that the trend of restlessness continues into the following nights.
---
The adjustment to living in Florida hasn’t exactly been easy for Christen, but it also hasn’t been too big of a hassle. The time change doesn’t affect her as much as she thought it would. She wakes up later than the other two girls and takes longer to get started on her day, but it’s not the biggest deal. At least she’s managing.
Her and Alex spend a lot of time together when the dark-haired girl isn’t at work, and it’s nice. They still have a lot in common, and their overpowering love for shopping keeps them on their feet constantly. It’s only been a week since she arrived, but Christen is sure that she already knows most of the stores closest to them.
Best of all, due to her current unemployment, she’s been granted many opportunities to get a feel for her new living situation. She’s explored certain parts of the city, and though it’s foreign to her, she doesn’t mind it. There are many good places for her to be able to sit down, pull out a pad of paper, and just write.
She’s never felt so free, and it’s a feeling that makes her feel empowered.
The only thing that Christen isn’t sure about is Tobin. See, Christen is usually very good at figuring people out. Meaning, she can gather an idea of how they are personality-wise from the moment she meets them. It’s a skill that was useful for her, especially in school, when she had to think of different ways to behave towards her teachers so that it would benefit her grades.
But Tobin? Tobin is like the trickiest knot to untie. Given, Christen has only known her for a week, but within that week it’s been impossible to gauge her personality. She hopes that time will bring her to some sort of an explanation, because Tobin interests Christen, and she doesn’t understand why.
It’s a tuesday afternoon, and Christen is waiting patiently on the couch for Alex to arrive home from work. Her shift ends at three o’clock on weekdays, and she had promised they’d go to the mall together.
It was an unproductive morning for Christen, and she’s itching to get out of the house. She spent the past few hours scrolling through old messages on her phone, puzzled and also a little bit disappointed about the fact that nobody from back home has called her to see how she’s doing. It sounds whiny, she knows, but if one of them had left, she would’ve called the second their flight landed.
After a few minutes more of her prior activity, she decides to call her mom.
It rings a few times before a familiar voice picks up. “Hello?”
“Mom?” she replies, trying to keep her voice casual. She doesn’t want her mother to hear the disappointment in her tone.
“Christen!” her mom says, sounding a little bit surprised but excited all the same. It calms the anxious feeling in Christen’s stomach. “Honey, I’m sorry I wasn’t able to call. I got caught up in something with your sister, and I just forgot. But how are you?”
“I’m good,” Christen sighs with relief. “I’m really good, actually. It’s nice down here.”
“That’s good, sweetie. We miss you!”
“I miss you too,” she says, smiling to herself. Just as she’s opening her mouth to say something else, she hears the door creak open. Alex must be home, she thinks.
“Hey, sorry, I have to go. Can I call you back tonight?” she asks into the phone.
“Of course. I love you,” her mother replies, and she can picture her like she’s back home. Her mom, sitting in the living room, flipping through a magazine with the phone tucked between her shoulder and her ear. It makes her feel homesick.
The sensation sweeps through her stomach like a wildfire in a forest. She swallows thickly. “I love you, too.”
When she hangs up, she nearly has a heart attack for the second time since she’s moved in (and, to prove her point, she’s only ever had two near heart attacks in her life).
“Hello,” a soft and slightly familiar voice says.
Christen has to crane her neck to confirm who the source of the voice is. Just as expected, Tobin stands inches away from her, a smile plastered across her tan cheeks.
“Oh, hey,” Christen replies, a slight blush covering her face. Had Tobin been listening to her entire phone conversation?
“Not very enthusiastic.” Tobin plops down next to her on the couch. As though she can read Christen’s mind, she quickly adds, “I wasn’t listening to your call, by the way. I walked in here right at the end of it.”
Christen nods, unsure of what to say. Her stomach still feels strange from the sudden bout of homesickness, and she can’t help but feel alone. Maybe she had made a mistake.
“Hey,” Tobin says softly, putting a warm hand on her arm. “You okay?”
The lighter-haired girl meets Tobin’s gaze, feeling something lift within her stomach and immediately knowing it is no longer her being homesick. Her eyes search Tobin’s face for a moment before she remembers that the girl has asked her a question.
“I’ll be fine,” she answers shortly, her eyes falling down to where Tobin’s hand rests gently against her skin. The touch makes her feel warm inside, possibly even a little bit less lonely.
Tobin doesn’t seem too convinced, but she doesn’t press the matter any further. Instead, she looks up at the clock, a puzzled expression on her face. “Where’s Alex?” she asks, as though Christen would know any better than she does.
“I don’t know,” Christen replies, her eyes darting to the clock, too. “She was supposed to be back by now. We were gonna go to the mall.”
Christen can’t help but feel a little disappointed. She could really use the mall as a good distraction from all of her doubts right now, along with Alex’s sense of humor. Cheering her up is something Alex has always been good at.
Tobin seems to sense her disappointment. “Oh,” she says thoughtfully, tilting her head. “Do you want me to go with you?”
This surprises Christen. She hasn’t ever pegged Tobin as a big shopper, and she doesn’t wanna take away the day from her if she already has other plans. It would make the trip to the mall feel like charity, and Christen doesn’t like being pitied.
But, at the same time, maybe a trip to the mall would give Christen more insight on who Tobin is as a person. And that possibility makes Christen excited.
“That would be fun,” she agrees, smiling. “If you don’t have other plans, that is.”
Tobin laughs, exposing her bright teeth. “Nah, I don’t.”
---
“One thing I don’t understand,” Tobin says as they walk through American Eagle, “is how people take so long in these stores.”
Christen sifts through a rack of shirts, examining each of them slowly. She smiles at Tobin’s comment, even though she’s guilty of spending far too much time in just one store. She finds it funny that Tobin is making it clear how much she doesn’t enjoy shopping, yet she’s the one who volunteered to bring her here.
“Some people just really like to shop,” Christen defends playfully, pulling out two similar shirts. She holds them both up to her body and turns to Tobin. “Which one do you like?”
Tobin squints, attempting to find a difference between them. “They look the same.”
“No,” Christen protests, pointing at one of them. “This one has thinner green stripes and a lower neck on it. The other one has thicker stripes and the neck is a lot higher.”
Even though it’s coming out of her own mouth, Christen can’t help but chuckle at how ridiculous it sounds. Tobin rolls her eyes jokingly.
“You’ll look good in whatever you buy, so it doesn’t really matter,” Tobin says, and Christen feels her cheeks darken at the compliment.
She tries not to read further into it, but she can’t help the way her heart skips lightly as she walks back to the fitting rooms. Christen already knows both of the shirts fit, seeing as she shops at this store regularly, but she doesn’t want Tobin to see how red she turned at the compliment she was given. It’s embarrassing, really, and she has no explanation for it.
She buys both shirts, and Tobin makes fun of her at the register for it, but she doesn’t care because Tobin’s laughing and her laugh is cute. (Like, really cute. Everyone should see it, because it could turn the worst of days around).
They spend a few more hours at the mall, and Christen teaches Tobin her ways of shopping. Of course, it doesn’t go very well, but she manages to help the girl pick out a cute shirt. They eat sandwiches in the food court, and overall, Christen has a really good time.
She finds a few things out about Tobin, too. She had already known that Tobin plays on the same soccer team as Alex, but she also learns that Tobin has been playing for a long time. She grew up in New Jersey, with her three siblings, and she likes to write, the same as Christen.
After the time she’s spent with the girl, Christen constructs a mental guide on how to read Tobin, because really, talking to Tobin is like standing at one end of a maze and being able to see the bright, intelligent colors seeping past the obstacles, only reachable when you figure out the right path. She knows that figuring Tobin out is just another skill she has to practice before she can master it.
And for another unexplainable reason, she really wants to master it.
When they get home, the apartment appears to be empty. Christen looks around as she walks inside, Tobin following close behind her. No sign of Alex.
“I wonder where she is?” Christen wonders aloud, worry seeping through. Alex is rarely ever home late, and when she is, she always lets them know ahead of time. She starts to feel guilty for not having called before they left for the mall.
Tobin places a comforting hand on her shoulder. It makes Christen relax back into her touch, effectively bringing her anxiety level down. “It’s okay,” she tells her. “I’m sure she’s fi-”
A loud noise from somewhere in the apartment cuts her off. Their heads both turn in that direction quickly, alarm sketched across their features.
“What was that?” Christen half-whispers, heart thumping in her chest. She watches as Tobin’s eyebrows knit together in a mixture of confusion and concentration. Tobin walks slowly out through the living room and starts towards the bedrooms.
Christen nearly chases after her, not wanting to be left alone. Yes, it’s probably nothing, but she isn’t going to take any chances and end up getting killed. (Way to exaggerate, Christen). The two girls go slowly down the hallway, approaching Christen’s room…
The next thing Christen hears is Tobin’s overly loud snort. At first she’s confused - the girl in front of her whirls around on her heel, eyes fixed on her palm. It takes Christen a minute to realize that Tobin has a small note in the center of her hand, with a very small message on it:
Do not disturb.
When Tobin breaks out into a quiet laughter, Christen is still extremely confused. But then, another noise comes from the room, and it’s much different from the one they heard before.
“Oh, God,” Christen mutters, her cheeks turning pink for the millionth time today. She’s not sure if she’s more embarrassed over the fact that she didn’t understand the meaning of the note,that she’s standing outside of her friend’s room while she’s having sex, or that Tobin is here with her.
She settles for all three reasons.
“Let’s get out of here,” Tobin whispers, still chuckling as she grabs Christen’s hand and pulls her out the door.
---
Driving at night is something Christen has always enjoyed. She’s not sure which part she likes best, because there are a lot of awesome things about it, but tonight she seems to really appreciate how the stars look as they fly down the road. All of the small lights blend together to make one long streak that seems to light up the sky.
The movement of the car combined with the utter darkness usually makes her tired, but not tonight. She’s fully alert as the car continues moving, and her mind is busy. Her thoughts race around in circles like fish in a fishbowl, too fast to catch but too slow to disappear. She stares out the window, trying to figure out what’s going on in her head.
Tobin breaks through her thoughts, nudging her arm. “Are you good?” she asks.
Christen takes in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Yeah, I think so,” she answers, not sounding so sure.
“You’re acting different,” Tobin comments, side-eyeing her. “Is it because of Alex?”
“I don’t know,” Christen says, massaging her temple slowly.
“Oh. Do you like her or something?”
“What?!” Chriisten nearly shoots through the windshield at this. She looks at Tobin. “No! No, no, that’s not it.”
And she means it. Liking Alex would be the equivalent to liking one of her siblings. But, surprisingly, the thing that stands out to her most about the question is the fact that Tobin thought she liked a girl. She feels her face flush as she turns to look out the window.
She thinks that it’s relief that flashes across Tobin’s face, but it’s dark and her mind is occupied, so she can’t be sure. “Okay,” she says.
Christen pauses for a moment, timing her next question so she doesn’t seem too eager, because really, it’s not a big deal, but she’s curious and slightly irritated that Alex hadn’t even mentioned a boyfriend. “So who was the guy?”
Tobin gives her a weird look. “You don’t know about Servando?” When Christen shrugs with annoyance, Tobin continues. “Oh. Well, they’ve been seeing each other for about a year or so.”
Christen watches the sky again, trying to think of a subject change, but she can’t find anything worth talking about. Her mind is too crowded to allow room for a normal conversation. She sighs, watching the car lights reflect off of road signs that they pass.
“Where are we going?” she questions, trying to figure out where they are. She doesn’t know the area well enough, so frankly, she has no clue.
“You’ll see,” Tobin says with a goofy grin.
---
“Oh, my god.”
It’s the only sentence Christen’s mind can formulate as she watches from where she’s standing, on the ground, as Tobin attempts to climb up the side of the fence. The girl’s body hangs down above the wire, one hand gripping the top of the fence, the other hand dangling in the air.
“I do this all the time,” Tobin assures her, grinning. “I’ve never been caught, and since this field is always filled up with practices during the day, I like to take advantage of the night.”
Christen watches silently as she continues climbing, approaching the top. She notices the way her leg muscles flex as she moves her body, trying not to stare but having trouble refraining. She has a nice body, she tells herself. It’s okay to look.
The night air is sticky from the prior rainfall, but it’s nice and warm. There’s a light breeze, but it’s overall a nice night. Her thoughts still seem to be somewhat soaring around her head, but she’s hoping that whatever Tobin has planned will help take her mind off of everything.
Tobin finally drops to the other side of the fence, landing softly on both feet. She hurries over to the gate, tugging on the lock a few times before it comes undone and swings open to welcome Christen inside.
While Christen had been picturing an overused, muddy field, this was turf. New, too. She felt excitement flood her stomach as she turned around in a circle, looking around at the beautiful field.
Tobin ran up behind her and poked her in the side, making her jump. Suddenly, she was much closer than she had ever been before. “You like it?” she asked, mouth close to her ear.
Christen nodded, ignoring the goosebumps that sprouted across her skin as Tobin’s hot breath hit her neck. She smelled like flowers, and it made Christen’s stomach tingle.
Before she knew what was happening, Tobin had grabbed her hand and was dragging her back towards a stone building that was attached to the soccer stadium. She allowed herself to be pulled along, unsure of where exactly they were going.
Tobin opened the unlocked the door to the building, stepping aside to allow Christen to enter first. The inside was composed of white bricks cemented tightly into the wall, concrete floors, and metal benches that lined up with the many rows of lockers. The locker room, she thought to herself, looking around.
“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Tobin says, admiring it with a slight grin. She walks ahead of Christen, sitting down on a bench and studying the girl in front of her. “Alex told me you like soccer.”
“I do,” Christen confirms, reaching out to run her hand against the cold metal of the lockers. She’s still unsure of why Tobin makes her feel so on edge, but she’s starting to piece together the clues to discover what she was beginning to dread.
“Cool,” Tobin says, trying to suppress the excitement in her tone. “This is the place that we practice in. The team around here is sort of a big deal, you know.”
Christen nods. She does know.
“Think you might want to join?” Tobin persists, her eyes burning into Christen’s with an intensity she didn’t realize they possessed.
She blinks, unsure of how to answer. Of course she wants to play, but for some reason, she feels that simply agreeing to be apart of the team isn’t the answer Tobin’s looking for, due to the heavy brown gaze the girl keeps on her. Reaching out a hand, she waits until Tobin hesitantly grabs it before pulling her out of the building.
“Where are the balls?” Christen asks, turning back to look at Tobin. The moon makes the field look mysterious, sending a chill of excitement up her spine.
Tobin leads her to the side of the building, opening the door and allowing several identical balls to roll across the ground. Christen gets her foot on one, dribbling it across the field and turning back towards Tobin, grinning at the way the brown haired girl examines her.
Unsure of what to do and feeling slightly shy now, Christen waves Tobin over, watching as the girl follows her instruction and approaches her. The wave of confidence that had washed over Christen was disappearing quickly, leaving her to bite her lip nervously under Tobin’s gaze, foot trapping the ball beneath her.
As though Tobin senses her hesitation, she backs up a bit, putting her hand up. “Pass,” she says, nodding her head towards the ball.
Thankful, Christen passes the ball, stepping a few feet to the side in order to give Tobin room. And as soon as she does-
Christen feels mesmerized as Tobin begins to maneuver the field with the ball at her feet, showing off a combination of her skills and speed. It looks effortless, the way she moves around, keeping the ball close to her whilst bringing it past imaginary defenders. Her ponytail sweeps from side to side with each movement.
She’s not paying full attention when Tobin passes her the ball, but her body quickly brings her back to the present in time to stop it, surprising herself even. She looks up and across the field, the adrenaline beginning to build low in her stomach as she sees Tobin’s eyes fixed on her once again.
Though it seems since forever that she’s practiced with another person, Christen feels confident enough to show off her own skills. Tobin’s eyes follow her around the field as she uses both feet, faking out imaginary players and quickly approaching the goal.
She’s practiced shooting on goal so many times, she isn’t the least bit surprised when the ball hits the top left corner seconds after her foot makes contact with it. Christen smiles, feeling somewhat proud of herself for having let go of the uptight mannerisms she had taken on while around Tobin.
Her self-congratulatory thoughts are interrupted by a pair of arms being thrown around her from behind, and it only adds to the excitement. She feels goosebumps cover her arms as Tobin wraps her arms around her, mouth close to her neck.
“That was really good,” Tobin breathes, and Christen prays that she can’t feel her heart racing against her tight grip around her body.
“Thanks,” Christen murmurs, blushing lightly. It wasn’t as great as Tobin is acting, and usually people exaggerating her skill level would get on her nerves, but with Tobin, she doesn’t mind. Especially if this is how she’s rewarded.
“Really good,” Tobin repeats, finally pulling away.
“I wanna play on the team,” Christen confirms, just incase the practice session they just had didn’t make her answer clear enough.
“Awesome,” Tobin replies, picking up a ball and juggling it a few times before catching it and redirecting her attention to Christen. “So, you ready to go?”
“Yeah,” Christen says, smiling to herself and feeling a million times better exiting the field than she did entering it.
---
When they get home, the lights to the apartment are all on. Alex is sitting in the kitchen, clad in a bathrobe and slippers, eating a bowl of cereal and holding her phone.
Christen’s mind flashes back to the uncomfortable earlier event that had caused her and Tobin to leave the apartment, and she quickly nudges Tobin, silently warning her not to mention it. “Hey, Al,” Christen greets her.
“Oh, hey, Chris,” Alex replies, turning around to look at both girls. Her eyes narrow as they wander over the two. “Where’d you two go?”
“Just to the field,” Christen replies, adding a shrug to suppress any suspicion.
Alex nods curiously, spooning cereal into her mouth. Sensing Alex’s questioning that’s about to come, Christen opens her mouth to announce that she’s going to bed, but Tobin interrupts her, mouth moving almost as fast as her feet were on the field.
“Had to get out of the house so we didn’t overhear anything more,” Tobin adds, sending a playful wink Alex’s way before quickly removing herself from the conversation, turning down the hallway and into her room. Christen’s jaw drops in disbelief, her eyes meeting Alex’s and finding embarrassment etched across the blue depths.
“I didn’t know you guys were home!” Alex exclaims, her face turning a deep shade of red. Christen doesn’t know what to say, opting for keeping her mouth shut and furrowing her eyebrows apologetically.
“Sorry,” she offers after a few seconds, feeling bad for Alex. But, at the same time, she can’t help but find humor in the way Tobin ducked out of the situation so easily. She wishes she could do the same, though, as Alex shakes her head.
“No, I should have known you guys would be coming home,” she reasons, sighing. “Sorry for whatever you…. Heard,” she finishes, wincing in embarrassment at her own word choice.
“No problem,” Christen says with a sweet smile, hoping to change the subject so she’ll have an excuse to leave the room. “I’m pretty tired, so I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight,” Alex says in response, rising from the chair herself and starting towards her own room. “Sleep well, Christen.”
“You too,” Christen replies, pushing open the door of her room.
---
Christen gets the best night of sleep she’s had since she’s arrived, and she can’t help but think it has something to do with Tobin.