"Hey Baby. How are you?" I ask picking up the face time call. "I'm great and you? Are you nervous?" Max asks, I set the phone down against my wall and my desk so I can continue packing. "Tomorrow night I am playing my first football game for England to qualify for the woman's World Cup. So no Max, I'm not nervous." I say with a small but nervous giggle. "You will be great. I will be there on the side of the pitch cheering you on." He says, trying to calm my nerves.
"Are you sure you have the time?" I ask Max. "Yes, our duties at the track don't start till Thursday. And also, the stadium is only two hour drive from our hotel." He says. "Well if you're sure, then there are five tickets available." I confirm. "That's great. Will you be able to come back to the race with me?" Max asks hopefully. "I can ask. I'm sure I can. I don't think anything major is going on during the weekend." I say, I know he prefers it when I'm there with him during race weekend but with all the training, I haven't really been able to do so.
~
As I wait outside my apartment building, I nervously cling to the straps on my bag. A loud engine roars as it comes down the road. "There is only one person that can be." I say with a small smile as two cars pull up in front of my apartment building. One, a dark blue Aston Martin, belonging to my boyfriend and the other is a white Mercedes. Max didn't tell me who was coming to watch the match so I'm guessing it's George's.
I walk across to the opening door of the Aston and wrap my arms around Max's neck as soon as he climbs out the car. "Hi baby." He says, kissing my head. "I missed you." I mumble into his neck. "I missed you too." He replies before we hear someone cough from next to us. I turn my head to find George, Lando, Charles and Daniel standing there. "Hey guys." I say with a smile and give them all big hugs as they greet me back. "Thanks for wanting to come and watch my game. I'm super nervous, if you couldn't tell." I say with a small smile. "We are really excited." George says. "It's going to be great." Lando continues. "Let's hope so." I smile back. We decided to go out for dinner after the match so we all make our way to Wembley.
~
I stand in the locker room. Taking in the fact that I am finally wearing the three lions badge. I have dreamed of this I was young and made it my dream to play for my country. Today is finally that day. We have a final team talk before we walk out onto the pitch. The stadium is about 70% full which is a good turn out for a series like this. I think it's starting to sink in that I'm finally here. Playing at Wembley has always been a dream of mine and now I'm finally here, part of the starting squad for my national team. I stand in a line next to my team mates as the anthems play.
I spot Max and the boys sitting in the special place reserved for our family and friends. The boys go crazy and wave at me causing a small smile to play on my lips.
As soon as the first whistle blows I can hear the guys cheering me on.
I kick the ball as hard as I can and it curves exactly how I wanted it to and goes straight into the back of the net, straight past the keeper. "YESS!" I yell, running and sliding in my knees in celebration. The score is now 3-1 to us. The girls surround me, cheering for me and celebrating. I glance at where the guys are sitting and they all are cheering loudly with their phones out, directed at me. I make a heart with my hands towards them and prepare for the last minute of the game.
"Y/n congrats on the winning goal. If you play like that in the World Cup we have an amazing chance." Coach says to me back in the locker room. Smiles cover the room after the win. We have a short debrief before we are let go.
I walk into the passage towards where I asked the guys to meet me. I turn the corner and I see them. George notices me first. "There she is!" He yells and all the guys turn to me as I run towards them. Max wraps me in a tight hug. "You did so well, I'm so proud of you baby." He says with a smile. "Thank you love, I really appreciate you being here. The rest of you guys too. Thank you so much for supporting me, you have no idea how much it means to me." I smile at them. They all hug me one by one and we make our way to the cars. I dump my stuff in the back of the car before climbing into the front seat. "We're going to drive back to Silverstone as there is no time to do it tomorrow before we need to be at the track."Max says. "Can I get some food first please?" I ask, of course. McDonalds?" He asks, knowing it's my favorite post game food. "Please." I say, tired from the game. Max messages the others that we are stopping for food and they can go on without us.
Once we get back on the road I dig in to my food and max managed to steal a few fries, much to my protesting. Afterwards, I curled up as much at I could on the front seat and drifted off to sleep. I wake up in Maxs arms as we are walking down a corridor. I shift a little and wrap my arms around his neck. "Ah sleeping beauty, you're awake." He says with a smile. "Leave me alone." I say, nuzzling my face in his neck. "We're almost at my room then you can sleep for as long as you want to." Max says. "That sounds like a fantastic plan." I say and he kisses my forehead.
