Roses and Flame

How they met

Kiara POV:

Today is Thursday which means it's time to head to PT.  I have been going to PT on and off for the past 4 years. That may seem like a long time, and it is, but I feel that each of the sessions has been beneficial to me.

See I recently committed to play soccer at the University of Los Angeles and I am so excited. I have worked hard to get to the spot I am at and I can't wait to see where I go next.

As I drive to PT I am blasting my music and thinking about what my physical therapist Sandra and I are going to talk about today. Usually it starts with school and changes to work and then sometimes I will update her about the shows I am watching even though she has no idea what I am talking about. Sandra has known me since my freshman year of high school and now I am finishing up my senior year. I don't think I could've gotten to this point I am at without her.

I arrive at PT a lot earlier than usual so I go in and decide to start stretching. I notice the only open one is right next to someone but I start making my way over there anyway. I say hi to a couple of the physical therapists that I see while I set my water and phone down before going over to stretch.

As I walk over, I finally have a good view of who the person is on the stretching cage next to the one that is open...

IT'S FREAKING CHRISTEN PRESS!!!!

Oh my god one of my favorite soccer players is right next to where I need to go. What am I going to do? What am I going to say? I look down and realize I am wearing one of my USWNT jerseys. Huh what are the odds. I guess that will strike up a conversation.

I realize I have been standing in one spot for to long which is probably making me look like a creep so I muster up as much courage as I can and walk over to the stretching cage.

When I get there I look at Christen in the eyes and I smile politely. Or at least I hope it looked polite and not scary.

'Wow she is even more pretty in person' I think to myself in aw.

I don't really know how to strike up a conversation without seeming weird so I just focus on my stretches. Thankfully Christen asked the first question.

"So do you play soccer?" I heard her ask me.

I looked over and saw her looking at me with happy, attentive eyes even though they seem to be hiding something underneath. "Yeah I do haha. I don't think I need to ask you the same question since I already know." I hesitantly laughed. Great Kiara you are making this conversation really awkward.

"I guess you don't. Well even if you know who I am I still feel like I should introduce myself. My name is Christen Press. What's yours?" She asks

"My name is Kiara Wise and it's great to meet you Christen. I really look up to the person and player you are and I am really glad I am getting this opportunity to meet you."

"Aww that's super sweet of you. I am happy I can be that person for you. May I ask what you are here for?" And this is the question that started a conversation I never thought I would have.

We talked for a good 10 minutes while we stretched and rolled out. I got to know the more personal side of her and she got to know me. I really enjoyed the conversation and we seemed to click instantly. We were both smiling and laughing as we talked like we were best friends in high school. But I notice her mood seemed to change when I asked her some personal questions like about how her recovery is going or how her training to return to play was going for her. I'm not sure where I got the sudden nerve but I then asked a question that could break the bond that we were seeming to build.

"I hope it's ok to ask but I notice with a couple of the questions I have asked you don't seem to smile as much. Is everything ok. I know we haven't known each other longer than like 10 minutes but I hope you know I haven't and won't judge you for anything so if you want to tell me you can. You don't have to though." Why did you have to open your big mouth Kiara!

She kinda got quite for a second and I thought I had offended her so I quickly went to apologize for my rudeness but she cut me off before I could say anything. "You know you are the first person that has noticed that something was wrong. None of my friends have noticed and if they have they haven't bothered to ask me. I am actually kind of struggling with my return to play. I don't want to bother any of my teammates in training with me as I know they will get bored as I have to start slow which is making getting out of bed to do it harder. I am making my way through it but it's not as fun as I expected it to be."

I felt really bad for her as I have been through that experience twice before. On the other hand I did have a built in training buddy with my younger sister but even then it didn't seem as fun as I wanted it to be. "Well I know I might not be your teammates but if you want I would be down to train with you. I understand the feelings you are going through as I have gone through them twice before. But if you want a training buddy I would be happy to be that for you even though I might not be as skilled as your friends. I also don't mind that you go slow as again I've been there done that so it's not a problem to me." I look at her and secretly hope she says yes as I would love to train with her.

"You know I think I might take you up on that offer. I might've not seen you play before but I think that you will be just as skilled as my teammates so I don't think that will be a problem. I really appreciate you offering though. I have had so much fun getting to know you and hopefully I can get to know you more." She stated with a smile as her eyes finally fill with sparkles.

I try not to blush and say, "Well great! How about we exchange numbers to set up a time to practice."

And that's exactly what we do. We exchange numbers and as she is putting her number into my phone I notice her taking a photo to put as her contact so I decide to do the same.

We give back each other's phone and it's time for both of our PT sessions so we say a quick bye and have fun so we can both focus on the workout. And all I am thinking throughout mine is, 'I can't believe I met Christen freaking Press'.