USWNT 3.0

36

The game against France was just around the corner.  

Lindsey was walking back and forth in her and Cari's room, as her roommate wasn't here because she was spending the day with some girls of the team. Since Lindsey already visited Strasbourg when she was playing with the PSG, she decided to stay in the hotel and try to focus on the upcoming game. Only two days left. That was what was bothering her. With Sonnett by her side now - only as a friend it seems - she really felt weird. Whenever they were becoming closer and laughing together, things would get awkward. Like, when goals were scored during the game against Brazil, they hugged each other, and then both blushed, and broke their embrace off. 

When she saw Tobin standing at the door, she jumped a little bit, and then cursed. The older girl just giggled. 

"Can I come in ?" she then asked, all smiles. 

Lindsey nodded, as the brunette was sitting on Cari's bed. The forward knew Tobin was her friend. They've been playing for Portland for years now, and together with Allie they were the rocks of the midfield. She considered Tobin as her second mother, or something like that, while Allie was more like her older sister. 

They were her people. 

"You look nervous" Tobin pointed out, frowning. Her smile was now lost, as the younger girl just looked at her. "What's wrong ?" 

Lindsey sighed. "I'm peeing my pants." 

"Because of the game ?" 

"Yah. I don't know, I just feel like France is going to be very tough to beat. But, like, we need to be either second or first of the group to pass. I'm just... afraid that France will be too good, and than England has improved a lot and-"

"Kid, chill" Tobin said, forcing Lindsey to sit down next to her. "You know this team. You're no stranger to adversity. You know what Allie would tell you if she was here ?" 

Lindsey thought for a second. "She'd be like : 'dude, no worry man, we've go this'" she then quoted with an impressive impression of the blonde midfielder. Tobin burst out laughing, while the younger middy just sighed once again. "I'm just afraid that I won't be good enough. That... I don't know. So many things could go wrong." 

"I know." Tobin said, putting her hand on Lindsey's shoulder. "But this is what makes soccer so attractive. It's a sport where everything is possible. So yeah, maybe we'll crash before even reaching the next stage. Or maybe we will crush all teams that come on our way. We just have to wait and see." 

The brunette nodded. 

"I'm also... heartbroken" Lindsey muttered. She didn't really know why, but she needed to get this out of her chest, and Tobin was the right person to talk to. She immediately straightened, ready to listen carefully to what the older girl had to say. Lindsey went on : "I don't know how to do this." 

Tobin frowned. "Is this about Sonnett ?" 

"Yes, of course it's about freaking Sonnett" Lindsey said angrily. "She's still there" she then added, pointing at her heart with her finger. "And she won't leave. That's fucking pissing me off, because I don't know how to do this." 

"Do what, Linds ?" Tobin questioned. 

"Forget her. Play better. I don't know." 

The older midfielder just sighed. She then took Lindsey's hands on hers, and looked at her in the eyes. 

"Sometimes, you can't do anything. If you can't forget her after years, especially if nothing happened really, then it means-" but Tobin stopped talking, as she saw Lindsey blushing a little bit. "Lindsey ?" she asked, surprised. 

She saw her young friend was in some sort of discomfort. She just waited for her to talk first, because she didn't want to rush things or force Lindsey to say something she didn't want to say. Lindsey looked at her hands. 

"We kinda had sex... Once !" she exclaimed, suddenly looking up. "We were drunk, and she jumped on me, and I-" she shook her head, regaining control. "We kissed two or three times, but that's it." 

"You banged Sonnett ?" Tobin repeated in her own words, still shocked. 

Lindsey rolled her eyes. "Yah, I banged Sonnett." She then sighed. "It was the best night of my life. But she doesn't even know she took my virginity." 

"She what ?" Tobin exclaimed, suddenly angry. "I'm going to kill her." 

"No, Tobs-" she started, but Tobin was already out. 

° 

Since Stephanie and Kristie wanted to spend the day together, Sam decided to go out with Sonnett, Moe and Mal, in order to visit the city. They enjoyed the trip, and came home pretty late in the evening. 

That was where Tobin Heath was waiting at the door, arms crossed on her chest, her cold eyes locked on Emily. 

The defender immediately knew the middy was mad at her. Thoughts immediately ran through her mind. Holy fuck. Did Lindsey tell her about... About how I behaved like a bitch with her ? Or when we slept together, or- She knew it had something to do with Lindsey, and suddenly was super happy that Allie wasn't there. Thank God Kelley took her on a car ride, otherwise I'd have had Lindsey's two moms on my back. She chuckled in her own saliva, as her friends - who didn't want anything to do with angry Heath - just got inside. 

Her heart beating really fast on her chest, Emily took a deep breath and stepped in front of Tobin, facing her with courage. 

"S-something wrong ?" she asked, totally terrified. 

Tobin raised her eyebrow at her. "Listen, Sonnett, I like you, so I will skip all the warm-up questions and immediately go to the point : you freaking took Lindsey's virginity just to have fun one single night ?" 

The blonde defender just stopped breathing. Her... virginity ? She didn't seem... The guild took over her body. She turned pale, and her mouth was open. "Woah I... She never told me she was..." 

"She didn't tell you ?" Tobin asked, surprised. 

"N-no, otherwise I wouldn't have-" Sonnett kept on speaking, totally under shock. "Tobin, you can believe me when I say I'm not that kind of person. She's not just a one night stand. But I would never have kissed her that night if I had known she was..." 

"Why are you acting like you don't give a shit about her ?" the middy asked, trying to focus on the point again. 

"Because I love her and it fucking terrifies me" Sonnett yelled. 

Time seemed to stop. She had finally said it out loud. She knew it was the truth when the words came out of her mouth, and Tobin felt it too. She knew Sonnett was being honest. But she also saw the pain in her eyes. 

"Em..." 

"I can't..." 

Sonnett then burst into tears, and buried her face on her hands. Tobin, totally disoriented, hugged her tight. She immediately felt guilty : did she just made things worse ? Now that Emily knew about Lindsey's secret, how would she react toward her ? 

Tobin sighed. 

"It's okay" she whispered. "Love is complicated." 

"I-I..." Emily let out between two tears. "I don't care about my spot on the team. But I want her to rise, I want her to score goals, to be covered in gold and stuff... I don't want to ruin her career because I am in love with her when I'm not supposed to" she then explained, trying to stop crying like a baby. 

"That's... beautiful" Tobin let out, trying to figure out what to say next. 

"Please" Sonnett weakly said, pulling away from her teammate, tears in her eyes. "Don't tell her what I just said. The less she knows, the best it'll be." 

"Okay." 

With that said, they entered the hotel.