I wake up in a different bed this morning. The bed sheets smell like floral perfume, making me feel at ease as the sun shines through the window. I can hear a shower going off in the distance, so I open my eyes and take everything in.
This is not a single bed, this is not my hotel room and this is definitely not my hoodie.
Where the hell am I?
I try to think about what happened last night but Leah appearing at the club is as far as I can get. Everything after that is just a blur that makes my head hurt when I try to piece it together.
Am I in Leah's room?
I roll in the bed, lying on my side and I see that there's an aspirin and a glass of water on top of the nightstand. I reach out for it sleepily, but before I can do anything else, the bathroom door opens.
Leah walks inside the room, with nothing but a white towel wrapped around her.
I'm definitely in Leah's room and im definitely awake now.
I lie in bed with a shocked expression on my face, not expecting this to be the first thing to see this early in the morning.
I watch as the little water droplets run down her body, making me want to reach out and trace them with my fingers.
"Hailey"
I practically tear my eyes off her body, forcing to look at her face instead.
"Ive been calling your name for the past minute" Leah says, her hand going through her hair, trying to dry it out.
Have I been staring that long?
"Morning" I say and sit up in bed, putting my hair out of my face.
"I was just going to grab some clothes, I didnt think you'd be awake" she says and takes a her training gear out of her suitcase.
I follow her movements the entire time... the way her back muscles stretch and tense with everything she does. When Leah turns around and catches me staring, I immediately look the other way.
I hear her chuckle.
"Sorry" I mumble and lay back again, hiding myself under the blankets.
I can hear Leah speak up but I can't understand anything she says since her voice is muffles underneath the covers.
Her footsteps can be heard as she's walking away, returning to the bathroom and I remove the cover off me.
"How did you sleep last night?" Leah shouts from the bathroom.
"Speaking of last night..." I say and pinch my eyes closed, dreading to ask her this question, "how did I end up here?"
I want for an answer but it's quiet for some time until Leah walks back into the room, fully clothed this time.
"You dont remember anything?"
"It's all a big, giant blur" I say and Leah looks away, crossing her arms over her chest and biting her lower lip, looking like she's thinking about something. There's a slight crease in the middle of her eyebrows and she has this disappointed look on her face.
Now im starting to feel nervous. What exactly did I do last night that's making her react this way?
"Did I do something... inappropriate?" I say and cringe at my words.
I woke up in her bed after all.... and I know I dont handle alcohol well.
"Wait... did we-"
"God no!" Leah spits out, interrupting what I was going to say.
If we had, we would genuinely be in deep trouble. Having a silly little crush on your rival who happens to be your fake girlfriend is something that im willing to get over if I have to, but sleeping with her? That's something that I can't just pretend that never happened.
"I took you here after I picked you up from the club since you were wasted" Leah says and rubs her forehead, "also Lia kept giving me a hard time about how you weren't staying in the same room as me and Kim kept asking what I was letting you sleep in the same room as Katie..." she exhales deeply.
"Does this mean I have to stay here until after the game?"
"I had no other choice"
Great. Now I have to survive the next few days in the same hotel room as her.
"Well, that's for taking care of me, I appreciate it"
Leah nods and gives me a small smile, both of her hands on her waist.
"I brought your suitcase here, I figured you'd need a change of clothes for today"
"Whats today?" I ask confused, not sure if im still a little drunk.
"Jonas wants to talk with us then training later" Leah says and I sit up in bed.
"What about?"
Leah shrugs.
"We'll find out when we get there I suppose"
She then leaves the room, allowing me to get ready for our meeting.
*** ***
I stand by the door of Jonas' make shift office in one of the conference rooms of the hotel. I pull out my phone, going through some emails and messages from my agent when I get a notification.
KATIE
can we talk?
I stare at the screen. What do I even reply? I haven't talked to or seen Katie in a while. I wonder what she wants to talk about.
"Hey, what you doing here?" I turn around and see Jen approaching me, her smile plastered on her face as usual. I wish I could be this happy and excited in the morning.
I put my phone away and make a mental note to reply to Katie later.
"Hi Jenny! Just gonna have a little chin wag with Jonas"
"Right... I heard you weren't bunking up with Katie anymore"
Word sure does spread around quickly in this team.
"Yeah" I look behind Jen, trying to catch a glimpse of Leah, "im staying with Leah for the rest ion the trip" I say and Jen gives me a smirk while raising her eyebrows.
"What?"
"Nothing" she says and grins, "just dont tires yourselves out too much if you know what I mean, its still game week"
"Im just going to pretend you didnt just say that"
"Im just saying" Jen shrugs "and if you'd like to share the details-"
"There's no details!" I say and cover my ears Wirth my fingers.
I hope im not completely flushed.
Leah then joins us, making me feel more relieved since now she can take care of the situation.
"Hey mate!" Leah greets Jen and then leans in towards me, giving me a quick kiss on the temple, "whats up?"
"Nothing much" Jen says, "I was just telling Hailey how if you both-"
"We're leaving now Jen!" I shout, taking a confused Leah's hand and dragging her towards Jonas' office.
"What was all that?" Leah asks.
"Just Jen being Jen"
After walking to the door, we both stand in front of it, none of us walking in. I turn my head looking at Leah who's looking at me.
"Ladies first?" she says and chuckles, earning an eye roll from me.
"I never bought the tough guy act anyway"
I know on the door and open it, walking inside. Leah follows closely behind me and we're greeted by Jonas.
"Ah" Jonas stops his conversation on the phone, "right on time... take a seat" he turns his attention to us ending the phone call. "Im not going to keep you long... shall we begin?"
"Yeah" Leah and I say at the same time.
"So, as you probably know: Jonas starts, "there are very strict rules when it comes to players having a romantic relationship in this sport"
He looks from Leah to me and I nod my head.
"Players dating each other violates a number of rules" he continues, "even though your relationship is strictly PR and professional, we still had a lot of difficulties when it came to dealing with the FA"
Professional? Our 'relationship'? was anything but professional from the start, but obviously im not going to try and correct Jonas with this.
"We risked a lot for this and pulled a lot of strings to get you two together and even though fort the most part it has been working and it has been paying off... you still let us down yesterday" Jonas locks his hands together.
So this is about the date.
"Jonas, it was my fault, I-" Leah speaks up but Jonas puts one of his hands up, interrupting her.
"I dont think the excuses matter anymore but it can't happen again"
"It won't" lead states and Jonas shifts his gaze to me.
"It won't happen again" I say.
"Great! I'll arrange another date for you tomorrow then, and I'll take care of the photographers and everything else" Jonas says, "just try to show up this time"
"Any questions?" Jonas adds and we both shake our head no, "alright let us know if you do, you're dismissed now"
We both exit the office and walk down the corridor. I feel relieved that the meeting is over.
"Since we're both free now" Leah says and I turn to face her, "how about I show you around the city?"
"Taking me to another one of your secret spots?" I joke.
"Believe it or not, I have a few places in mind that id like to share with you" Leah smiles slightly.
"Sorry but... I still have some business I need to take care of here" I say remember that I need to talk with Katie.
"Oh... alright" Leah says while putting her hands inter pockets, "hmm should I come pick you up later then?"
"No, that's okay. I'll see you back at the room"
I say goodbye to Leah and once she's walking away, I pull out my phone, searching for Katie's name on my contact list.
Let's get this over with.
"Hailey?"
I become completely still when I hear my name being called. I can practically feel my entire skin itch.
That voice...
I slowly turn around, clenching my jaw, feeling my legs instead as my heart beats rapidly.
"Mum?"