SUNSHINE

nineteen

The game ended with the USA clinching a three-nil win over the Ferns of New Zealand, Casey getting her first cap with the senior team. She got media pictures with holding the number one up and the ball that her teammates had already started signing. What made this even more special was that she was able to get her first cap in front of all her friends, family, and in front of the wall of American Outlaws. It was welcoming and she could not thank the crowd and Jill enough for this experience. She ended up taking a ton of pictures with her teammates and for the Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter pages of the National Team. She could say she had a great first televised game.

They all went into the locker room and undressed from their uniforms. She made sure to set her jersey aside to take with her when they left the stadium, but she took everything else off and left them in the locker as the other players did.

"Alright, excellent show today ladies. Congrats on Casey getting her first cap today, once that ball gets all signed, it's all yours. We get on a flight tomorrow morning, leaving the hotel by nine, but other than that, you have the rest of the afternoon and evening off, so do as you wish." Jill told all of them as they changed into the street clothes they arrived in. She threw on the shorts and t-shirt she walked in with and took her hair out of her french braid leading into a ponytail out and let her hair loose. She stood up and rubbed where the ball had nailed her in the stomach, the area sore from the impact.

"Casey, catch!" She heard someone shout from across the locker room, and she looked up to see the ball coming at her. She caught it in one hand while still holding onto her headphones, jersey, and phone in her other hand.

"We're heading back to the hotel and going for a swim, you wanna join?" Kelley asked, and Casey shrugged.

"I think I'm gonna spend some time with my mom and dad and friends, maybe tonight?" She responded, and she nodded.

"Yeah sure, maybe we can all grab dinner. Go, have fun." She responded, and Casey smiled, dismissing herself from the locker room. She would find a way back to the hotel, for her parents and her friends had both brought cars. She was not sure if any of her teammates had stuck around, but her thoughts were soon answered when she found her mom, dad, and group of friends waiting for her by the back entrance of the stadium.

"There's our superstar!" Her father said, his voice booming. She grinned and wrapped her arms around the both of them.

"You played amazing, sweetheart." Her mother commented, and she smiled.

"Thanks ma. I didn't think I was gonna play today." She responded with a chuckle as Riley wrapped her arms around her, squeezing hard.

"My best friend is a famous athlete!" She squealed in her ear.

"I'm not famous, just the athlete part." She answered with a laugh.

"Twitter says otherwise." Jenna retorted with a cock of her eyebrow. "You're all over my timeline."

"That's just because you love me so much." Casey responded with a wink. "How long are you all staying down here?"

"Well we owe you dinner, because we're both on call this evening." Her father said with a sigh.

"How about you take my car back to Tampa and we'll call it even?" She suggested, and he seemed to like that idea.

"We're still taking you out, but we can still take your car back." Her mother responded.

"Then let's head back to the hotel and get everything together." Casey said, and they all made their way to the parking lot. She was exhausted, but she wanted to spend the last afternoon she had for the next week with her friends.