A Storm Is Brewing

Developing Pt.2

Sophie
Morning, mentioned the zoo to Liv, and now she won't stop texting me😂x

Leah
Aww❤️ She's great. I was having a look at flights, Friday at 2pm?x

Sophie
Sounds good, we could do the zoo on Saturday? When do you go back? Bring warm clothes!x

Leah
I'll go back Sunday afternoon, does that suit? I have training Monday x

Sophie
I have court Monday too🙄 x

Leah
Friday-Sunday it is then. Can't wait to see you, Soph x

Sophie
Me neither x

Due to Leah's presence becoming more of a sensation, she didn't want me to pick her up from the airport. I understood this, and to be honest, I was glad of it. The last thing I wanted to do was have my face plastered over the internet. It wasn't exactly a good look for clients, but I knew it would be something I would have to deal with if anything ever actually happened.

From the moment she arrived, we struggled to stop smiling at each other. She immediately wrapped her arms around me, telling me that she had been just as nervous as I was. I felt a strange sense of calmness around her, almost like work struggles no longer existed. We didn't do much that day; we just lazed around and spent the day actually getting to know each other, asking all the questions that seemed too intense for text messages. It became quite clear quite quickly that neither of us really had any idea of what the other's job entailed, despite the fact that we were currently cuddled up on my sofa with the sound of the television in the background.

"What else does a solicitor do? Surely it isn't all court cases?"
"Nah, most solicitors don't go to court these days; most things are settled out of it. I'm on the criminal side of things now, though, so most of mine have to be heard in court. Before that, I did all sorts of things: divorce settlements, custody battles, helping people write contracts, and all that kind of stuff."
"Which do you prefer?"
"Court. The other stuff was like - hmm."
"Boring?"
"Yeah, boring. I don't want to knock it though; everyone starts somewhere."
"That's a good outlook."
"What do football players do in their spare time, then?"
"You're saying that like you didn't accidentally like one of my magazine shoot posts on Instagram." She chuckled.
"Oh my god, did I?" I facepalmed.
"Yeah, that first night I stayed here at Christmas."
"That's thee most embarrassing thing I've ever done." I shook my head.
"I was so tempted to message you after that, but I just couldn't."
"Wait, if you knew my Instagram, why didn't you just message me? Why the flowers?"
"A message is so impersonal; it's not exactly romantic, is it?"
"So you were trying to romance me?"
"Wait! No!"
"You weren't?"
"Wait!"
"Leah." I chuckled.
"You're good at this winding me up thing." She rolled her eyes.
"I know."
"You should come to one of my games." She smiled.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. You do know, like, how the game works?"
"Yes. You kick a ball, and the team that gets it into the net the most times wins."
"Oh my god! There's more to it than that, you know?"
"Like what?"
"You definitely have no idea what the offside rule is, do you?"
"Can I guess?"
"Yeah."
"When the ball goes out of the lines."
"No." She shook her head.
"Okay, em, when the - so - like, if you - I have no idea."
"Okay, I think we might need to go to a game together before you come to one of mine. You're liable to cheer for the other team." She chuckled.
"Well, I'd just cheer for the blue team—that's you, right?"
"No!"
"I'm joking, you're red."
"Through and through."
"Wow, that's the most passionate I've seen you be."

A comfortable silence followed until Leah thought of her next question.

"Do you like any sports?"
"Just football, really."
"You like football, but you don't know the rules?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Not your football. Proper football."
"Proper football?"
"Yeah, Gaelic? You know what that is, right?"
"No?"
"Jesus. Maybe you should leave."
"Tad dramatic, Soph. What is Gaelic?"