Curling her legs up underneath her body, Courtney smiles as she rests her head on the back of the sofa and glances over at the blonde who smiles at her. They opted to have lunch in Courtney's today instead of going out and risking being photographed, even if they are just friends at the moment Leah knows that social media would go insane with their theories. She arrived a little over two hours ago, bringing lunch for them which they enjoyed before Courtney put Bunny down for a nap leaving just the two of them in the living room.
'So when is your next game then?' Courtney asks.
'Wednesday.' Leah replies smiling.
'And what is this game for? Is it the league or?' Courtney asks.
'Conti-cup semi-final. We play Man City at home and then whoever wins will go on to face either Chelsea or West Ham in the final.' Leah explains and Courtney nods her head.
'How long do you think it'll be until I can convince you to come watch a game?' Leah asks watching as the brunette bites her bottom lip.
'I still have no one to watch Bunny.' Courtney replies shrugging her shoulders.
'You can bring her with you? I'm kidding, I don't want to pressure into coming to games when you've already said you're not into it. I know it isn't for everyone.' Leah says shaking her head.
'When you get to the final, Bunny and I will be there cheering you on from the stands. We might not have a clue what's going on but we'll be there.' Courtney replies.
'Yeah?' Leah asks and Courtney nods her head.
'Can I be honest with you about something, Court?' Leah asks.
'Mm... Always.' Courtney replies smiling.
'I like you, probably more than I ever intended to... I don't know if I'm ready to jump into a relationship yet but there is just something about you that really makes me want to get to know you better.' Leah says.
'I like you too, Leah. I uh- I've not been in a relationship in a while and honestly there was a time where I swore I would never get back into one but being around you, even just speaking to you on the phone throughout the day makes me so happy. I look forward to our phone calls and I've not felt like this in years.' Courtney replies.
'We'll take it slow.' Leah says and Courtney nods her head.
'Slow.' Courtney repeats.
****
'What was it like? Being pregnant and giving birth, I mean?' Leah asks as she plays peek-a-boo with the little girl sitting on Courtney's knee.
'Hard... It took me a while to get my head around being pregnant. I think for the first four months I was just doing it all on autopilot. I'd take the vitamins I needed to take, go to my appointments and obviously not do anything that could harm her but other than that I ignored the fact it was happening...' Courtney admits.
'Came as a shock to you then?' Leah asks.
'Mm... It came as a result of a situation that was out of my control.' Courtney replies biting her bottom lip.
'Oh...' Leah almost whispers and the brunette nods her head.
'It was hard and I- I wasn't sure I was going to continue the pregnancy for a while because how I could I? But I look at her and every day I thank my lucky stars that I get to be her mum because I don't think I could've got through the past eighteen months without her to focus on.' Courtney says kissing the top of the little girl's head as she feels tears fill her eyes.
'I'm sorry... I just- I've not spoken about this in a really long time.' Courtney mumbles using her free hand to wipe her cheeks.
'Don't apologise... I can't even imagine what you've gone through. I'm so sorry for bringing it up.' Leah says softly, her hand dropping to rest against Courtney's thigh.
'You weren't to know.' Courtney replies.
'Giving birth wasn't the hardest thing in the world... I would do that again.' Courtney admits.
'You would?' Leah asks and the brunette nods her head.
'Mm-hmm... I had a water birth with minimal intervention. It was literally just me and Elle in the room except when they came in to check on me. My dad stayed in the waiting room and he got to come in literally minutes after she was born.' Courtney replies causing the blonde to smile.
'Do you want kids?' Courtney asks.
'Honestly? I think so. It's something I've always just assumed would happen, you know? I have endometriosis though so I don't know.' Leah admits shrugging her shoulders.
'Oh that can be quite bad, can't it? How does that work with you playing?' Courtney asks.
'It can be hard, some games I need to be on the bench if I wake up in agony which isn't great. I almost thought I was gonna miss some of the Euros at one point but I made it. Need to just take it as it is.' Leah replies shrugging her shoulders.
****
'I could introduce you to some of the girls... I know you said you haven't really met anyone down here yet and well they're a really good bunch.' Leah suggests watching as Courtney stirs whatever is in the pan in front of her.
'Oh I don't know...' Courtney says glancing over her shoulder at the blonde. Lunch has turned into dinner as well and she's now cooking up some pasta for her, the blonde and Bunny who's sitting in her highchair babbling at the blonde.
'No pressure... Offer is always there if you want it though. They are a great bunch and obviously I wouldn't be throwing you into a group of twenty odd people. Could arrange to just meet Beth or Lia.' Leah replies smiling.
'Let me think about it... Who's Beth? Was she there the other night?' Courtney asks.
'No, she's out of play at the moment. She tore her ACL at the end of last year and her mum just passed away last month so she's had a rough time... I think you'd like her.' Leah replies leaning over to tickle Bunny who giggles.
'What's an ACL?' Courtney asks.
'It's a ligament in your knee, connects your thigh bone to your shin bone and gives your knee stability... One of the big injuries we don't want. It has you out for like nine months.' Leah replies.
'Oh fuck that's not good.' Courtney says and Leah nods her head.
'Yeah, her and her partner Viv done it within weeks of each other... It's not been a good time.' Leah admits.
'Maybe I'd be up for meeting her... Who would you tell her I was though?' Courtney asks softly.
'Oh Beth knows all about you.' Leah replies.
'She does?' Courtney asks.
'Mm-hmm... I went to hers the day after I came here to see how she was doing and we ended up talking about you. She's good friends with Jordan as well, my ex, so I just- I don't know. Part of me felt guilt about wanting to move on.' Leah admits.
'And what did Beth say?' Courtney asks.
'That I had absolutely nothing to feel guilty for.' Leah replies.
'I think I like the sound of Beth.' Courtney says, a small smile on her face as she returns to cooking.
****
'Thank you for today...' Leah says softly as she snakes her arms around the brunette's waist from behind and rests her head on her shoulder.
'Thank you. We've barely even started whatever this is and you've already got my daughter's drool down your back.' Courtney replies causing Leah to laugh.
'I feel like I've known you for years... Isn't that crazy? Like I don't remember ever feeling this comfortable with someone, this quickly.' Leah admits smiling as Courtney's hands move to rest on top of hers.
'I will meet Beth...' Courtney says quietly.
'Yeah? Are you sure? Honestly I don't want to pressure you.' Leah asks.
'I know no one down here, Leah. I work from home. I tried a baby class with Bunny and absolutely hated it... Other than you, I don't speak to anyone here.' Courtney replies.
'You'll like her.' Leah says.
'She's not gonna hate me because I'm not Jordan, is she? You said that they're really close.' Courtney asks and Leah shakes her head.
'Of course not. I think she seen our break up coming before either of us had the guts to admit it wasn't working.' Leah replies.
'And Bunny?' Courtney asks.
'She's amazing with kids. She'll absolutely adore it, it's hard not to.' Leah replies.