“Me?!” She demanded.

  “Don’t act so innocent!”

  “I’m not acting! I am innocent.”

  “Fuck!” Tessa jumped up - while Valerie, August and Estelle had been arguing, Chelsea had been building up a wonderful offense, attacking from the right, and when that proved fruitless, calmly passing it back to start over from the left. They had found a weakness and, too quick for anyone to blink, Chelsea’s star forward had rocketed a ball into the back of the game. A late equalizer. Tessa groaned and buried her face in her hands.

  “Damnit,” she told her screen. “This is what happens when the midfield forgets to stay tight.”

  “You’re not seriously blaming the midfield for that?” Estelle chirped, offended. “That was a pure defenders fuck up.”

  “Not even close,” Demetria argued.

  “No defensive midfield,” Tessa agreed. “They should have not allowed that transition to happen. There were so many options for disrupting the ball!”

  “No one wants to tackle in the midfield though,” Callahan argued.

  “You didn’t have to tackle,” Tessa corrected.

  “Gently nudge is the word you prefer to use, right?” August asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Are you dragging me right now?!” Tessa asked August with a smirk.

  “No! Mom and Dad can’t fight!” Estelle complained. Demetria snorted.

  “Let me tell you something about August and Tessa. They never stop fighting.” August and Tessa both narrowed their eyes at Demetria, who laughed and immediately held up her hands. “Except when they’re mad at me,” she said with a small laugh. August grinned and leaned into Demetria’s shoulder.

  “We love you, Demetria,” she told her affectionately.

  “Sure you do.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  The month of July tumbled into August in a frenzy; alternating home and away games meant the miles were quickly adding up. They came back from Illinois to play the Breakers; they won, and Hailey had an impromptu film party in her hotel room. They all piled on top of her to watch Personal Best, some movie from the 80s she loved. They tolerated it, for Hailey.

  When they played in DC, Tessa didn’t have the energy to hang out with Amanda, Lis and Crystal. She waved at Annick, sent August and Demetria off to socialize, and then lay in her darkened hotel room with her roommate of the trip, Gemma. Gemma was watching some comedy called “Living Single,” and she always let Tessa lie in her lap while she absently brushed Tessa’s hair and texted her boyfriend. Tessa hadn’t realized she was tired, but the travelling was getting to her, and she fell asleep to the laugh track, perfectly happy to snooze the month away.

  Then back to the West Coast to face Seattle. They were all exhausted from long flights, and Seattle beat them to a pulp. Kenni cackled at half time, cheerfully pointing out to August that she was “running circles around them,” but August just glared at her. After the game, Beniliya cheerfully told Tessa that “bad games” happened, though she was quick to note “not to me.” Tessa rolled her eyes and shoved her.

  After that it was back home, for a win against Houston, and then back to Boston for another win.

  And then end the season back at Providence Park. A hard fought against Seattle left August grinning like the cat who got the cream, and made everyone light headed and giggly. It was a good feeling. Tessa had missed it.

  The next morning, they were off. Demetria and August had agreed to take the later flight US Soccer offered them, allowing Tessa to sleep in for the first time in what felt like years. She curled up around Demetria in Demetria’s large queen sized bed and snoozed happily until Demetria dragged her out of bed at noon with threats that if she didn’t get up right now they would miss their flight.

  They didn’t.

  Tessa spent the entire time on the airplane staring out at the sky, nervous. She loved national team callups; Friendlies were here favorite thing. And Ellis had decided that what this team needed was more friendly. After their loss at Portugal earlier this year, their pride was battered, and they were hungry for success, so Tessa didn’t mind. Actually it thrilled Tessa a little bit.

  But while on one hand she was so excited to see Ru and Cheryl and Tina and Belinda again, another part of her felt...sick? Anxiety was clawing at her stomach, and the idea that she might have ruined the chemistry on the pitch felt like it was following her.

  What if she had ruined everything? She kept on unlocking her phone to check for texts, but Belinda had been silent for nearly a month, and Tessa thought it meant something. She wanted to move on, probably. Talk to other people. Make...more normal friends?

  Tessa tried to breathe out, and think of something else.

  It was the first friendly ever against Switzerland, so August hadn’t made her watch old games the night before the flight, the way she usually did. Instead, August Facebook stalked some of the Swiss forwards and told Tessa meaningless facts about them; “oh, her brother has a mutual friend with my sister. Weird.” or “oh my god this one once visited a place called Fucking, Austria.” Tessa pretended to listen while playing Tetris on her phone.

  On the flight, Tessa had snagged the window seat, and Demetria had lost the coin toss, so she was stuck between August and Tessa. Tessa leaned her head on Demetria’s shoulder and watched her doodle aimlessly on the airplane’s paper bag while she watched an episode of Modern Family on her phone.

  Demetria’s small gentle laughs, and the regular lines of her drawing, and her warmth, all calmed Tessa down. Demetria looked up, and grinned as Tessa when the episode finished, and offered her an earbud. Tessa accepted it, and spent the rest of the flight giggling with Demetria as they watched another episode.

  There was a car waiting for them at the airport, and as they drove up to the hotel, the Reign players who had also opted for the later flight were tumbling out of their car. August started making faces out of the window at them, and Demetria, giggling, tried to pull her back.

  “August, don’t - August! August stop it! We’re about to -” the door of the car got yanked open by Kenni. August looked up at Kenni and stuck her tongue out. “Hey Kennison,” Demetria said with a small smile.

  “Stop making faces at me, Mirrin!” Kenni said, pouting and crossing her arms.

  “No,” August replied gleefully, stepping out of the car

  “Remember that time we beat you 5 - 0?!” Kenni demanded as the driver handed August her bag. August furrowed her brow, as if forgetting the painful defeat they suffered, putting her hand on her chin.

  “No,” she said thoughtfully, “but I do remember the time we beat you in the last game of regular season.” Kenni pounced forward to grab August, and Beniliya caught her arm before she could go much further.

  “They’re just jealous because they had no chance at the Shield,” Beniliya soothed as August used Demetria as her human shield. Demetria grinned at Beniliya.

  “Congrats on that, by the way,” she said. Beniliya shrugged.

  “Thanks.”

  “Sorry about the game,” Tessa said, stepping out of the car after Demetria and August. Beniliya raised an eyebrow.

  “Really?” She asked. “Are you really sorry?” Tessa grinned.

  “No,” she admitted. Beniliya grinned back.

  “Good, because I’m going to kick your ass at camp.” Tessa laughed - she already felt better. There was something heartening about this ribbing by Beniliya.

  “I’m excited to see you try,” she teased back, slinging her bag over her shoulder and following August, Demetria and Kenni into the lobby.

  Arrival day was always a mess. They all arrived in packs of threes and fours. Some people, like Tina, opted to spend the day in the lobby, greeting everyone with excitement by throwing herself at them. While Rhys and Timothy were always confused and disorientated by the greeting rituals of the national team, Pia had realized years ago that she could use Tina’s love for greeting people to her own advantage. Tina was given a clipboard, told to arrive early, and given “full greeting duties,” and Tina fucking loved it. Since the Olympics, it was a pretty normal event to arrive at the hotel and find Tina sitting in the lobby with a large clipboard. Sometimes other people were with her, sometimes she was alone. But she was always cheerful.

  “There you are!” she said, as if she had expected them earlier. “Fiona made me in charge.” She grinned brightly at them, as if this wasn’t the norm. Beniliya snorted.

  “Oh no,” she commented. “What a terrible idea.”

  “Rude,” Tina reprimanded, pointing her pen at Beniliya and narrowing her eyes. “I’ll have you know I fully deserved this position.”

  “Do you have our room assignments?!” August interrupted, cutting to the chase. Tina’s face lit up.

  “That, I do.” She tapped the clipboard with her pen. “I have all the important information right here.”

  “Who am I rooming with?” August demanded, crossing her arms across her chest

  “You gotta ask nicely August.” Beniliya narrowed her eyes, and then pounced forward, trying to grab the clipboard out of Tina’s hand. Tina jumped back quickly though, hopping up onto the cushions of the couch with a triumphant grin.

  “No,” she warned, holding up her index finger at Beniliya and using a level, deep voice, as if she was talking to a dog. “Stay.”

  “Tina, you’re killing us,” August whined.

  “Good,” Tina said, flashing August a smile. “I want to lord my power over you as much as possible.”

  “Tina?” Demetria asked, looking up at Tina with a small pleading expression. Tina smiled.

  “Demetria, hi, nice to see you, you’re in room 221 with Kling.” Demetria’s face brightened.

  “Win,” she hummed, and, with a quick pat on Tessa’s back, she grabbed her bag and jogged towards the stairs.

  “She’s already there!” Tina called after her. Demetria held up her thumb, indicating that she heard and understood before she disappeared up the stairwell.

  “Tina! Can I go next?” Tessa asked, tilting her head and giving Tina a lopsided smile.

  “Tess,” Tina said, grinning at Tessa, “smooth move, and you’re in 227 with Moe.”

  “Me?” August asked. Tina narrowed her eyes at her, and hummed loudly.

  “August?” She looked down at the document thoughtfully, trailing her pen down, as if searching. “August, August, August.” August crossed her arms and glared at Tina.

  “Stop being a brat,” she growled. Tina’s smiled widened.

  “Wow,” she hummed. “Perhaps I’ll just never tell you -”

  “Tina,” Tessa warned, though she was grinning at Tina. “Stop torturing her.”

  “Fine,” Tina sighed. August smirked triumphantly. “August, you’re in 632 with Lloyd.” The grin disappeared.

  “What?! No! You’re lying!” Tina raised an eyebrow and held up the clipboard.

  “I’m just reading the printed words here,” she said earnestly. “Ugh,” August groaned, covering her face with her hand. Tessa pulled at her arm gently.

  “Don’t be dramatic, August,” she chided quietly.

  “Look, I love Roma on the field, but every time she says those fucking three words “my trainer James” I feel the need to drink.” Tessa sighed and pulled at August again, getting her to walk three or four spaces away from Tina, and her stage.

  “August,” she warned in a murmur. “Be nice.”

  “You’re just happy because you’re close to Demetria,” August muttered, dropping her hand from her face and glaring at Tessa. “I’m on a whole new floor.”

  “Kenni, you’re in 277,” Tina announced behind them. August whipped around, her face stormy.

  “Kenni’s on your floor too?” She demanded.

  “And Beniliya’s your roomie,” Tina added. August gasped in horror.

  “What the fuck?!” She demanded. “This is so unfair.”

  “August,” Beniliya warned, putting a steadying hand on August’s arm. August shook her off.

  “Who’s your roomie, Tina?” She demanded, glaring at Tina. Tina jumped down from the couch and frowned.

  “I’m rooming with Callahan,” she said with a shrug.

  “You changed the chart, didn’t you?!” August hissed. “You edited it!” Tina stepped back, genuinely hurt now.

  “August!” She whined quietly. “I didn’t! I swear! That would be an abuse of my powers!” Tina sounded petulant, but Tessa knew that this was a mask, hiding her genuine hurt. It wasn’t her fault that the room assignments had ended up as they had.

  “Come on, August. Leave the poor greeter alone,” Kenni murmured, pulling at August. August breathed out, and glared at the floor.

  “I’m sorry,” Tina whispered. Tessa looked up at Tina and saw the real distress. She let go of August and hugged Tina.

  “It’s not you,” she promised Tina, squeezing her. “August is grumpy.”

  “No I’m not,” August grumbled, though it was a quiet grumble.

  “Do you want to trade rooms with me?” Tina’s voice was quiet - she was violating an unwritten rule of the team by offering the trade to August. But August did the chivalrous thing, and shook her head. She breathed out steadily, and shrugged off Beniliya and Kenni.

  “I’m fine,” she told them. “I’m just tired. I’m sorry, Tina. I’ll see you guys at dinner.” At that, August stalked off. Beniliya and Kenni watched her go.

  “What was that about?” Kenni asked quietly. Beniliya shot Tessa a look, before she shrugged.

  “Don’t know. Let’s go and see if Molly is in yet.”

  “Smart.” With a quick nod in their direction, the two of them departed. Tina shoved Tessa lightly and went and sat down on the sofa with a loud sigh.

  “Who are we missing?” Tessa asked, glancing down at the chart in Tina’s hands.

  “Only a couple of stragglers. Alyssa, Willow and Hailey.” Tessa sat down next to Tina heavily and nodded.

  “Nice,” she hummed. Tina stared out of the window, and then whipped around to look at Tessa with narrowed eyes.

  “Has August been like that since you and Belinda banged?” She demanded. Tessa stared at Tina, slack jawed.

  “Tina!” She gasped, once she regained her composure. Tina shrugged.

  “What?” She asked. “Bells told me.” Tessa glanced around the lobby wildly.

  “Keep your voice down!” she hissed. Tina smirked.

  “There’s no one here, Tessa,” she pointed out. Tessa narrowed her eyes.

  “When did Callahan tell you?” she demanded. Tina shrugged.

  “I don’t know. Ages ago.” Tina was watching Tessa, looking for some sort of reaction. Tessa frowned, her eyes unfocusing for a second before they snapped back to Tina. She thought about her next sentence carefully, and then asked it anyway.

  “How is she?” She asked. This was clearly not the question Tina had been expecting. Her brow furrowed.

  “What?” She asked. Tessa sighed and made a face.

  “She hasn’t texted me in weeks,” she admitted. Tina laughed, incredulous.

  “You haven’t texted her in weeks, Tessa,” she pointed out. Tessa frowned.

  “I thought I was being...too…” She gestured around herself, desperate to find the right word. Tina just tilted her head on the side, continuing to let Tessa flounder. Tessa frowned. “Forward?” She offered finally. “I thought was being too...me.” Tina frowned.

  “Tessa,” she chided carefully. “Why would you being too you be a bad thing?” Tessa shrugged and sighed.

  “I don’t know.” She looked up at the ceiling. “It’s dumb.”

  “No, it’s not,” Tina murmured fiercely, pulling at Tessa until Tessa relented, looking at her before Tina gave her a fierce hug. “You’re perfect Tessa.”

  “Why are human relationships so complicated?” Tessa complained quietly. Tina snorted.

  “I don’t know, but it sucks.”

  “It does.” Tina slowly stroked Tessa’s hair, and Tessa relaxed into her. Tina always smelled of sweat and Old Spice and cheap laundry detergent, and Tessa was so grateful for her comforting presence. A door slammed outside. Tessa sat up.

  “Where’s Cheryl?” She asked, sitting up.

  “She’s in room 209.” Tessa grinned and kissed Tina on the forehead, before she straightened, waved at Hailey, who was just entering, and went to dump her bags and scare Cheryl.

  Dinner at Camp was always exciting - most times, Coaches had figured out some sort of canteen style of serving their meals, and they would push together three or four small tables so that everyone could sit on one long table together. Among the bustle of people muttering “no, I can’t have cheese today” and others going “did Fiona forget I’m vegetarian again?” Tessa scooped up all the food she could find, piling her plate high, and made her way to the table.

  Amanda, Jennica, Lis and Selena were already seated. Tessa slid in next to Amanda, and surveyed her thoughtfully.

  “How’s the head?” she asked.

  “Fine,” Amanda grumbled. “Why does everyone keep on asking me?”

  “Jennica posted the video in our Facebook group,” Tessa pointed out. “There was no way we were gonna miss it.” Amanda sent Jennica a glare, but she just held up her hands.

  “This isn’t on me, Amanda,” she said with a small smirk. “I just wanted to make sure everyone knew where to send your Get Well Soon Cards.” Amanda sighed.

  “You can’t blame us for worrying about you,” Selena soothed, and Amanda scowled into her jello before she nodded.

  “You’re right,” she grumbled.

  “Which reminds me,” Selena said, turning towards Tessa with narrowed eyes, “How’s your ankle?”

  “Fine,” Tessa replied, bristling.

  “You were subbed out of both your Boston and your Houston game,” Selena pressed on. Tessa huffed.

  “Do you watch all our games, Selena?” Jennica asked quickly as Tessa just stared down at her plate, annoyed. Selena smirked.

  “Almost,” she said with a small shrug. “It’s how I make sure my stars,” she jabbed Tessa lightly, “don’t mess up their ankles because they’re too stubborn.” Before Tessa could think of something smart to say, Callahan and Tina joined them. Callahan sat down next to Jennica - opposite Tessa - and Tina sat down next to them.

 

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