Wild Thing

-84-

Knock ... knock ... knock.

Kasey wakes up to the sound at her door and assumes that someone must have gotten the wrong room number, but as the knocking continues, she finally decides to get up and investigate. Opening the door, she is met by the smiling face of none other than North Carolina Courage star Heather O'Reilly. 

"Can I come in?" 

"Um, yeah, sorry; it's just, it's really you. I'm Kasey, but I'm going to guess that you already know that." Kasey backs up and lets Heather enter the room and take a look around. 

"It's nice to finally meet you, Kasey. KO is always talking about you and Kylie. I messaged you earlier and didn't get an answer. I hope you don't mind me just showing up instead. Also, I brought you a Vanilla Latte, KO, told me it was your coffee of choice."

Kasey takes a big sip and lets out a soft moan, "So good, thank you." 

Heather smiles, "So, can I see the ring? I need to know that my Irish sister did you right." 

"Wow! It's beautiful; I've never seen anything like it." 

Kasey smiles and nods, "Yeah, Kel did an awesome job on the ring selection, although she did get a little help from Kriegs. Sorry I didn't answer your messages; I was pretty wiped out last night and enjoying some much-needed sleep." 

"It's okay; KO explained what happened to me and let me know that you'd probably want to keep it pretty low-key today, and that's completely understandable; however, it has been requested by the team that I bring you to the Stadium today for a meeting in about two hours."

"Crap, am I already in trouble?"

Heather shakes her head, "No, you're fine. It's standard procedure for the team to do an intake meeting to fill out paperwork and address any questions or concerns you may have. I'm sure they'll want to discuss your experience at The Keeper Institute and the video." 

Kasey sits on the bed, "Oh. Did you watch it?" 

Heather sits down beside her, "I did, and you have nothing to be embarrassed about. What I saw when you were speaking was all from the heart, and when you mentioned your relationship with Kelley, your face lit up. When I Facetimed her recently, her face lit up the same way when she was speaking about you; it's very apparent that the two of you love each other. Also, as far as the rest of what you said, don't ever allow any of it to be downplayed; you are a strong woman who has had to move mountains to get where you are, so be proud and don't look back only forward." 

"Is it okay if I give you a hug?" 

Heather smiles and nods, "Of course. You know, I always knew that it would take someone special to make KO even consider settling down; I never imagined that person would come in the form of a Canadian, though. I mean, KO has always had a thing for keepers, so that parts less surprising, and yes, I know that you are also capable of playing out and scoring bangers; I've watched tape on you." 

Kasey smiles and laughs, "Kel told me that we'd get along, and I can already tell that she was right. Just so you know, my Father is American, and I have dual Citizenship. I agreed to claim my American citizenship, so the Courage doesn't have to use an International or Import spot on me." 

"Does KO know that?" 

Kasey nods, "She does." 

"Good to know. Have you spoken with your agent about the video?"

"I emailed him yesterday, and he said he would get back to me. I should check my email and see if there is a response."

Kasey pulls out her laptop, and after entering the WIFI password, the hotel gave her pulls up her email. She notices two emails, one from Jeff and another from the Courage outlining her schedule for the next few days and informing her of the meeting this morning."