"Arent you supposed to be on a date with Leah?" Caitlin asks before taking a sip out of the smoothie that she's holding.
I cringe at hearing Leah's name. In fact I dont want anything to remind me of her right now, but it's hard when you're surrounded by our team mates.
'We had a little argument" I confess, taking a sip out of my own smoothie, not wanting to make a big deal out of what happend.
"Are you guys okay?" Caitlin asks concerned, "Lia told me Leah was really excited for your date"
"We'll be fine" I shrug.
I dont even know what 'fine' means when It comes to Leah. Im not even angry at her. I'm just... disappointed. A day ago, she really had me thinking that she was a different person from who I thought she was. It really seemed like it, until she proved me wrong. All we do is this constant back and forth, one step forward and then three steps back all over again.
"I know what will cheer you up" Caitlin takes my hand, dragging me inside a Womens store.
"Buying lingerie?" I question, holding up a pair of red panties and matching bra.
"Oh, you should totally get that! Leah will lose her mind when she sees you in that" she winks and I immediately drop the panties in their place.
Definitely not getting that.
"You should come to this club with me tonight" Caitlin says and grabs the panties I just left behind, putting them inside my basket, "its the first opening night and you know how wild it gets here in Liverpool"
"I dont know about that" I say hesitantly, not wanting to do anything other than curls up in my bed.
"Come on! We dont have practice until tomorrow afternoon so we're allowed. What else will you do on a Tuesday night? Curl up in bed?" she chuckles.
"No, I have plans" I turn my head away, wanting to make myself sound believable.
?Yeah, you do" Caitling says and heads towards the fitting room, "you're going to this super fun club with me"
Before I can object, she has already left.
*** ***
I walk inside the hotel, heading towards the elevator with a shopping bag in my hand since Caitlin can be very persuasive.
I already feel a lot better after spending some time with her, she really knows how to lighten up my mood.
I push the button, stepping inside the elevator once the doors open up for me, but a hand stops them from closing.
Leah
She looks up at me, her mouth slightly falls open. She wasn't expecting it to be me.
I sigh.
"I'll wait" she says slowly, taking a few steps back hesitatingly.
"Dont be ridiculous" I move a bit, making some space for Leah in the elevator.
She slept inside and once the doors close, I regret letting her take a lift with me. There's not much distance between us.
"What are you doing here?" I ask her after pushing the button for my floor.
"Meeting Lia" is all she says and she looks ahead in the mirror, her eyes meeting mine, forcing me to look down at my feet.
Why is this taking so damn long?
"You went shopping?" Leah asks gently when she sees my bag on the floor.
I only nod, avoiding eye contact.
"You bought... red lingerie?" she asks and I feel my cheeks turning red.
I stay quiet and pull the bag closer to me in order to close it, embarrassed at what she saw.
"Did you buy this for me?" Leah asks and I can practically feel the smirk on her face without even looking at her.
"It was a gift" I say annoyed, "and no, its not for you so quit teasing"
"And if I won't?"
Leah turns towards me, closing the little distance that was left between us, causing me to back away.
My back meets with the cold metal wall of the elevator and chills run throughout my entire body but not because I feel cold, but because I can feel Leah's breath on my neck.
For a second there, I forget that we are mad at each other.
I meet her eyes as she's towering over me, my heartbeat quickening because of the close proximity.
I should be screaming at her, I should be shoving her away but why do I feel myself aching closer to her?
Leah places her hands on each side of my, her fingers slightly grazing the side of my arms. The intensity of this little contact send shivers down my spine, awakening a hidden passion within me. In that moment, I can't deny the undeniable chemistry between us as she has me caged by her body, pinned me to the wall. It's a forbidden desire that both excited and terrifies me.
Her body presses gently against mine, making me hold my breath.
"Rule number two" I whisper, reminding her of our rules.
"No touching?" she whispers in my ear
I shake my head, our eyes meeting.
"No touching" I say, my voice trembling.
"So, if I were to do this..." Leah starts running her hand down my arm, "we'd be breaking the rules?"
The words get stuck in my mouth as I get lost into her eyes, Leah's other hand finding its wait on my lower back.
"You dont want this" I said again her lips which are only inches away from mine/
"You have no idea what I want"
Her words ignite a possibility that maybe im not only imagining the way she craves to touch me when we're sitting next to each other, the way she's always searching for my eyes across the pitch, or am I going crazy?
"Then tell me... tell me what you want" I bed, being tired of trying to figure Leah Williamson out.
I want-"
"Are we interrupting something?"
We both turn our heads at the same time, Jen and Vic standing in front of us. Neither of us had realised that the elevator doors had opened and that we weren't alone anymore.
"Lets go mate" Jen grabs Vic's arm while laughing, "we can take the stairs"
"No, its fine" I say grabbing my bag and stepping away from Leah, "I was just leaving"
Before I can leave, I look at Leah who's standing there, looking as if nothings happened.
"I'll see you later?" Leah says and I nod before leaving.
*** ***
"God, you are so wasted!" I tell Caitlin who's sitting in front of me, drinks in both of our hands while the environment around us is lit up with colourful lights and music is blasting.
"Speak for yourself" she giggles before taking another shot.
We're both totally wasted.
A ringtone starts playing and I look at the phone that's ringing on the table.
"Lia's calling" Caitlin says befogging answering the phone, putting it on speaker, "hey love"
"Hey baby!" Lia says through the phone, "where are you? Its very loud"
"I'm out" Caitlin says while I order two more drinks.
"Why? Do you miss her already?" I tease Lia
"Wait... is that you Hailey?" she asks, "you're both together?"
"I dont know any Hailey, you're speaking with Emma Hayes" I joke and Caitlin laughs alongside me.
Lia laughs.
"Are you drunk?"
"Drunk is an understatement" I say and down my drink.
"How much have you had?" Lia asks concerned.
"We stopped counting after the third" Caitlin says, "or was it the fifth?"
I shrug, not knowing what they're actually really talking about. On the other end of the call a few more voices can be heard.
"Your girlfriend would like to speak to you"
So, Leah is actually with her.
I roll my eyes and mouth 'hang up' to Caitlin who nods and says "we're hanging up now"
I give Caitlin a 'thank you' look before she takes my hand, standing up.
"Come on, lets go have some fun!"
We head to the dance floor, both of us getting lost inside an ocean of people. I dance to the songs playing like there's no tomorrow, letting myself forget the person I am, of the things ive accomplished and of the things that I haven't.
Minutes later, I feel a pair of hands wrapping around my waist from behind.
What the fuck?
"What do you think you're doing?" I snap
"Am I not allowed to hug you in public now?"
I turn around and I come to face with blonde hair and green eyes.
Am I too drunk and suddenly seeing Leah everywhere now or what?
I suddenly feel dizzy and the place starts spinning around me.
"Whoa!" Leah says and puts her arms around me, "Careful, I got you"
I put my head against her chest, trying to regain my balance and I inhale deeply, her perfume filling my nose.
"Come on" she starts pulling me towards the entrance of the club.
"Where are you taking me?" I mumble, "I need to get back to-"
"She's with Lia, now let me take care of you"