There's a loud banging on the bathroom door. "Parker hurry up! You've been in there for eternity, I have to pee!"
"I'm coming jeez!" I mumble through the minty foam before spitting it into the sink and rinsing my toothbrush out. I swing the door open and brush past my sister. "It's all yours now."
"Who pissed in your Cheerios this morning?" She scoffs at me.
I shrug it off and get ready for my game this afternoon. Warm-up starts in an hour and mom is still asleep from working a double last night. That means Hayden has to drive me there...
I shrug on my soccer jersey and toss some spare clothes into my gym bag along with my cleats and carry my shit downstairs and attempt to find something suitable that I can call breakfast. I pop some bread in the toaster and grab some peanut butter from the cabinet before cutting up a banana.
I hear my sister come down the stairs. "Whatcha making?"
"The same thing I always make before a game. Hey, do you think we can go to the Santa Monica pier after the game?" I ask as I spread the peanut butter.
"It's tradition at this point, but yeah I'm down, only if we can go to that cheesy photo booth." She raises her brow at me.
"Oooo your drive a hard bargain, buuuut I'm sold." I chuckle as I pretend that her request is a hardship.
I put the bananas on top and hand my sister her slice of toast, we eat in a comfortable silence. It's in these moments that I miss my parents. Yes, my mom is technically here... but she's always either asleep or getting ready for work. My dad is away for weeks at a time on the rig, which provides for us as a family. But in all honesty... I can't remember the last time we sat down and has dinner together.
I see Hayden's fingers snap in front of my face. "You good? You kinda zoned out."
"Yeah I'm good." I take another bite of my toast, not really having the appetite to finish the rest of it. I grab my duffel bag and sling it over my shoulder.
"Alright Beckham, let's go win a soccer game. And by that I mean I'll be cheering from the sidelines while you kick some ass." She drapes her arm over my shoulders as we walk to the car.
We're going to miss her.
Once we reach the field, I drop my duffel at my feet and slip on my cleats. As I'm lacing them up Brianna, my teammate sits next to me on the bench. "You ready to destroy Lakewood?" She asks as she cleats up too.
"Hell yeah I am. They aren't ready for us." I smirk.
Right over left.
Right over left.
It's not right... do it again.
I sigh and unlace my cleats because that didn't feel right. This is not a good way to start things out. I finally get my cleats laced up the right way and join the rest of the team on the practice field for warm up.
"Grey, I need you to push down the field and get open." Coach says to me before giving instructions to the rest of the girls before the game starts.
Before I know it we're on the playing field first game of the season, face to face with our biggest rivals, the Lakewood Stingrays. The whistle sounds and my feet carry me down the field only to be met with defense who is blocking every clear line between me and the ball. I move, she moves. I try maneuvering around her time and time again.
I finally get fed up and shove her while the referee isn't looking. Brianna passes the ball to me and we finally score a point. I turn around to see the girl that had been blocking me for half of the game on the ground because I shoved the fuck out of her. I hold my hand out and help her up.
"Kudos for not getting penalized for that shove." She says once she's on her feet. "I would have done the same thing."
"But you didn't."
"Not yet. I'll have you on your ass by the end of this." She says giving me a wink as we return to center field.
She winked.
Why did she wink?
Why didn't you wink back?
I jog to position, hoping that can cover up that fact my cheeks are blazing red for no apparent reason.
She winked.
Ok fine, she winked. It was kinda cute. I shrug the thought off because right now, she's the enemy. I rush her in an attempt to block a pass, but true to her word, her arm collides with my rib cage and the force knocks me on my ass.
The whistle blows and a yellow flag is thrown, meaning the referee saw and is penalizing them for misconduct.
"Penalty against Lakewood number 33 Larson. Number 42 Grey will receive a penalty kick." The referee announces. I hop up and brush myself off passing the girl on my way to the penalty line.
"Told you I'd have you on your ass. It was worth getting in trouble for." She winks again.
I feel my cheeks heat up once more at her comment. I take a deep breath and try to refocus on making the penalty shot.
She winked.
She winked.
What does that mean?
Focus on the shot.
Breathe in, breathe out.
Kick like hell.
I end up scoring the penalty kick and we end up winning the first game of the season three to one. The drive to the pier with my sister is filled with my sister gushing praises over the game. It's nice and all, but it wasn't just me... it was a team effort and trust.
True to my word, Hayden and I end up laughing our asses off in the photo booth, making goofy faces.
We'll miss things like this.
We step out of the booth to take a look at the results of our laughing fit. I bump into someone as I practically trip out of the booth. Their grip on my arm steadies me enough to regain my composure.
"At least three first time you tripped today it was on purpose, good to know you're clumsy off the field too." I hear the person chuckle.
My head snaps up. "You."
a/n: we're getting to know Parker a little better. Also I was craving cake, so I had a cupcake but it wasn't satisfying like I thought it would be.
But I did get to pet lots of doggos today! 🙃
I love you bubbies 💕
