City of Champions: Jalen Hurts

17

The next month or so was very busy for Reese.

Training for both National Teams and the Olympics was what she spent most of her time doing. After that, it was a mixture of both shoe signings for her Under Armour cleats, and meeting other Under Armour athletes.

Reese was running a million miles an hour but somehow, she hadn't let it take a toll on her body. She was eating three meals a day, training a good amount, and staying in the gym as well.

"Do you want to grab food?" Reese asked Layla when she picked up the phone. "If not, it's fine. I'm okay with whatever."

Layla bit down into her lip. "Sure. I can pick you up in about a half hour."

She, too, had been doing some reflection and self improvement in the past month.

Whether or not Reese was honest enough to admit it, Layla stepped out of line when she kissed Reese. The feeling she felt for Reese was something that snuck up on her and she wishes that she'd waited and sat with the feeling before jumping out there and kissing her.

Now she just felt silly and embarrassed whenever she thought about it. Luckily, Reese didn't ever talk about it. She was ready to move on from it, as was Layla. Reese just wanted her best friend back.

"Hi." Reese dragged on excitedly when she climbed into Layla's car. "I literally was so bored at my house."

The other woman laughed. "What have you been up to today?"

Reese sighed, clicking her seatbelt. "I put a down payment on my apartment today and that's it. I start moving in next week."

"You're staying in Philly?"

"No." She shook her head. "I didn't think it would be smart to stay in Philadelphia if I'm gonna be playing in D.C."

With Reese's contract finalized with the Washington Spirit, she was now a member of the team and was due for camp in a few weeks.

Despite what she'd told Quez about hating Philly last football season, it had grown on her. It was now superior to Athens in almost every way because every person she'd ever loved was in Philadelphia.

Reese had to be a grown up now, though.

Layla pouted. "Now, who am I gonna get food with?"

"I know. I'm gonna cry like a baby when I leave." She said. "I don't know anyone out there. I haven't even met any of my teammates."

In all honesty, soccer was slowly becoming a job rather than the sport she'd grown to love. Soccer had her fatigued and moving away from the people she cared about.

Reese tried telling herself that she was leaving to chase her dreams but soccer was never her dream. She didn't grow up watching soccer. She didn't grow up loving soccer but it became her whole life because she wanted to be a better version of herself.

"Everything will be fine." Layla assured, flicking some blonde hair behind her shoulder. "And if I need to come down there and fuck some shit up, I will."

Reese laughed. "You'll be my first phone call."

It was refreshing to be around Layla and things not be awkward. She didn't have many friends and while she didn't need any, it was nice to have good people around.

Despite what Layla had done and how much of a mess of things she'd made with her best friend, Reese knew that Layla was still really good at heart. She'd just made a mistake and now she was gonna make good on it.

Maybe she didn't even like Reese. She hadn't had many friends before, much like Reese herself, so perhaps she overanalyzed how close they'd gotten. Either way, she deeply regretted it and only wished to be friends moving forward.