Expect The Unexpected

Chapter 2

7 years later. May  2015; age 25.

"PUSH IT RILEY"

"CATCH HEATHER"

"YOU GOT IT TAYLOR"

I hear my teammates yell as I'm chasing Heather O'Reilly on number 60 on the beep test. I keep pushing myself until I trip over my cleat and miss the beep. I got out at 64. HAO didn't last much longer as she got out at 67. We're the winners of the beep test; if you could say winners. It's more like torture.

"Good job" I say to Heather after I catch my breath.

"You too Ri, you're good competition" I laugh.

"Yea sure whatever you say HAO" I say as we're walking to the bus to take us back to the hotel for ice baths and recovery.

"Little over a month until Canada. you ready?"

"Definitely. we have some revenge to get"

Heather and I have gotten close over the years. She also graduated from UNC so we both have that Tar Heel winning edge to us. And when you play for one of the best college teams and one of the top teams in the world, you live for coming out on top.

"Riley!" I hear Alex, one of my best friends, calling me from the middle of the bus. I slide in next to her and put on my headphones for the bus ride back to the hotel.

When we all get into the lobby of the hotel, Dawn our fitness coach, tells us where to get the ice for our ice baths and that we should be in the dinning room to eat at 6 to wrap up the last day at camp. It's been a stressful 3 weeks full of hard conditioning, tough scrimmages and 5 wonderful days off. I loved every minute of being back with the team but I miss my family and my comfy bed. I'm super thankful I don't play across the country from them, that would be a hard adjustment since I'm a home body.

"Riley lets go the ice is melting!" my friend and teammate Lauren Cheney Holiday says.

"Cheney the water is still going to be freezing if the ice melts or not"

"C'mon the sooner we get this done, the faster you can call Kyle and I can call Jrue"

I laugh, she does have a point, I really want to call Kyle. We've been dating for 4 years. He's best friends with my step-brother Clayton since they were both on the baseball team at East Carolina. While Clay plays for the Oakland A's, Kyle plays for the Nationals.

"How's Jrue doing with the Pelicans this season?"

"He's doing ok.. He's out for a few weeks with a leg injury. He's not too happy about that"

"Aw poor Jrue, I know how he feels. Kyle hates being out and watching from the sideline."

"Ah the life of being professional athletes and having professional athletes as husbands and boyfriends"

Finally after 10 freezing minutes Cheney's phone beeps signaling that we can get out of the bathtub. Just as we finished drying off my phone starts ringing with a call from Kyle.

"Hey babe! I miss you"

"I miss you more Ri, how was the last day of training? Beat HAO at the beep test yet?"

"I wish, lost by 3 this time"

"Aww you'll catch her next time!"

"Hope so. How's your knee doing Ky?"

"Good! the trainers cleared me today. They said the sprain healed nicely" I can hear the smile in his voice. He was out for 2 months for an MCL sprain. It's been a long 2 months for him.