USWNT 1.0

16

Jill told them that they had the hotel for themselves, since her and the other coaches were sleeping elsewhere because of secret stuffs. The girls all cheered, and Lindsey was relieved : Kelley's birthday was going to be amazing, and a great excuse to have a sort of team bonding. After Jill left, Lindsey took Moe's hand, and guided her up to their room. Kelley was going to have the best birthday party of her life, and Lindsey was planning it to be just as the Spring Break ones.

Kling and Whitney removed the cover of the swimming pool. It was a warm evening of May, perfect to party. Even Carli took part in the preparations, making alcohol blends and some cocktails, with Allie's help. The eating room was cleared from its tables, thus there were some room for a DJ table and a dance floor worthy of that name. Some of the girls, directed by Becky, cooked some food for dinner, whereas some others were preparing a playlist for the evening. By 7 PM, everything was ready, and Allie went to look for Kelley, who was getting ready as she's been told to.

When the blonde opened the door, she was impressed by the view that was offered to her eyes : Kelley was wearing a beautiful tight dress, all in black, which was highlighting the contours of her perfect body. She was sexier than ever.

Allie hurried to close her own mouth and take the control back.

- Let's go, you birthday gal.

Kelley stuck her look on Allie's blue eyes, shivering. She nodded her head in agreement ad followed the tall blonde, who didn't look bad either. Once Kelley crossed the door, a tremendous applause resounded on the whole room. She discovered her teammates, all wearing beautiful dresses and looking happy.

Her smile was bigger than America right now.

***

It was 10 PM, and alcohol was starting to affect everybody behavior.

HAO, Julie and Christen, who were drunk as ever, were dancing on a table, laughing every five seconds. Everyone was having a great time, even Carli, who drank more alcohol than the usually did. She was sitting with Alex, Tobin and Allie, playing drinking games. Meanwhile, Pinoe and Kelley were forcing Ashlyn and Alyssa to dance with them. The scene was really funny, due to the fact that neither of them knew how to dance. Ali was staring at Ashlyn from the corner of the room, drinking her glass very slowly.

Alex suggested playing a round of "Never have I ever", and several other people came to join them. Tobin wasn't very happy about it, and neither was Carli, because Hope was joining them. The team captain avoided any eye contact with her former friend, too afraid to see the goalie freaking out and running away again.

HAO started the game. At first, the questions were quite normal. "Have you ever kissed a girl ? Two people in the same time ? Have you ever had a threesome", and so on. But when Pinoe was up, everything started to tense a little bit.

- Never have I ever been attracted to a girl ? Pinoe said, devil in her eyes.

Of course, she drank, since she was dating a girl. But she wasn't the only one. Julie, Christen, Tobin and Kelley drank as well. But the most surprising person to drink was Hope. They all assumed that she had an experiment in college or something, but Carli immediately felt involved. Hope had her eyes planted in hers.

With no further due, Tobin asked the next question :

- Never have I ever had a crush on Allie Long.

Time seemed to stop. Kelley knew Tobin had discovered her feelings towards the blonde. She made sure that Allie, who was talking with Ashlyn and Moe on the other side of the room, wasn't paying attention and took a shot of vodka. They all looked at her, amazed, but neither one of them said anything.

Kelley decided to take her revenge.

- Never have I ever been best friends with Long, she fought back.

Several girls let a long "oooooouuuh" out, and Tobin gave them a death glare before drinking. Alex drank as well, smiling at Kelley with provocation. She was now sure that the forward was going to say something in order to make her drink, but she didn't. Instead, she just turned to face Julie, who almost split in her drink while hearing the next sentence :

- Never have I ever been in love with two people at the same time ?

Slightly blushing, Julie drank. She was quickly joined by Carli, who was staring in the opposite way than were Hope was sitting. The dark-haired girl looked at her, after remembering that is wasn't her she was thinking about, probably some other guy before Brian and her becoming official. She shook her head, disappointed.

It was Julie's turn. From now on, the questions were going back to "normal", having a more global aim. Carli finished her full glass bottom up, and went to sit by the pool, alone. Assuming she just needed some fresh air, the girls went on with their game. But Hope, who was worried about her health, joined her. When she sat next to Carli, she saw her shaking her head with irritation, before giving her a look as cold as ice.

Hope preferred to remain silent, lost in her thoughts. When she expected it the least, she felt two cold hands grabbing her face, and soft fingers caressing her jawline. Before she could react, Carli planted a kiss on her lips. After several seconds, Hope kissed her back with passion, placing her hands on Carli's back, pulling her toward her body. Their lips seemed to fight for a minute, before Hope slowly pulled away, turning her head to face the pool. Carli's forehead was pressed against hers, and they didn't dare to look at each other. They remained in that position - holding each other close - until the brunette finally found the courage to speak.

- I-I'm sorry, she said in a low voice. I-I just...

The door opened with noise, and they just had the time to go away from each other before Christen and Alex, following by the whole team, stepped on the balcony. Carli got up fast, following the others, who were willing to do a pool party, leaving Hope alone, speechless.

"She's trying to kill me or what?"