"What do you want to talk about?" I ask while I play with my fingers as she stares at me intently. She watches me almost studying me as she looks like she's trying to plan what she's going to say to me, "Why did you lose it on the medic after the match?"
Not exactly what I was expecting her to say
"Uh it's just he should have been there" I answer weakly. "Yeah but I've never seen you like that before" she says softly. "You don't get it" I let out frustrated sigh as I run a hand through my hair. "Then explain it to me" Jessie sighs. I look at her as she stares back back waiting for me to talk. I sigh, "I don't think you understand how badly tonight could have ended". Her face softens but I continue on, "Jess you weren't breathing. You were just lying there motionless. If I hadn't figured out what was wrong with you or if I had been a few minutes later you might not be here here right now". My eyes start to tear up and slip down my face, "You could have died Jessie".
I sniffle as Jessie stands up and walks over to me and takes my hands in hers, "But I'm okay Elliot. I'm fine. You saved me". I leaned my forehead against hers, "I already lost my parents Jess, I don't know what I would do if I lost you too". She just rubbed circles on the back of my hand trying to calm me down probably on high alert in case I had a panic attack. She looked down at me and it was only then I realised how close we really were. Her eyes seem to glint in the dim light that streaked through the window and we were so close I could pretty much count all the freckles dashed across her cheeks. She was staring into my eyes but I could see she eyes flicker downwards and she licks her lip and leans in slightly.
But I pull back a bit, "Jess". "I remember. I remember what happened at the party" Jess interrupts me. I stood frozen to the spot as I look her at her face trying to decipher how much she remembers of that night. Almost as if she reads my mind she continues, "I remember you pulling that guys off me and then taking me home. And I remember kissing you before I passed out". I sigh as I think about what happened after I brought her home.
Flashback
"Cmon Jess work with me here" I mumble as I practically carry Jess through the hallway towards my dorm. But the Canadian just giggles drunkenly in my ear, "Your so strong. Look at your arms". A dopey grin spreads across her face as she starts to poke my bicep.
"Jesus Christ Jess" I mutter as I hold her up while also digging around for my dorm key. She leans against me her head on my shoulder as she breath tickles my neck her arm's slip around my waist as she hugs me tightly. She starts brushing her noses up and down the column of my neck. A shiver runs up my spine at the gentle touch of her nose trailing up and down my neck as I struggle to open the door.
Eventually I get the door open as Jessie and I stumble into the door with her mumbling something incomprehensible under her breath. "Okay I think it's time for you to go to bed freckles" I say softly as I bring her over to my bed. She whips around facing me but trips and I catch her before she could fall my hands go to her waist while she throws her arms around my neck, "But I wanna stay up with you" she pouts jutting her bottom lip out.
I chuckle lightly as I walk her backwards until her legs hit the edge of my bed, "Your drunk Freckles. And it's time to go to bed". I carefully lower her back onto the bed but she tightens her hold around my neck making me fall onto the bed with her. My hands hold myself up by her head and she giggles while I groan, "Jess you need to go to sleep". But she just grins up at me, "But I don't wanna".
I sigh and gaze down at her she still had her arms around my neck and I could feel her play with my hair at the nape of my neck. I was hovering over her and we so close that her nose was brushing against mine and I could feel her breath fan against my face. When I looked down into her eyes I could see her glance down at my lips.
Before I could react she pulled me down and kissed me
I don't respond immediately but I snap out of my stupor and kiss back. I forgot everything else and I just let go of any little bit of self control I had. I forget any possibilities of future consequences and I just kiss the girl I've liked for god knows how long. Her hands move from my neck to my hair as she tangles her fingers in my hair giving it a slight tug causing me to let out a small moan. The longer the kiss went on the more heated it got as I tilt my head to deepen the kiss. I lower myself down on top of her as we get impossibly close.
Jessie untangles her hands from my hair and slides her arms down my shoulder slipping off my jacket and I fling it somewhere behind me. I glide my hand up and down her side as I explore her mouth. "Elliot" Jessie moans which snaps me out of my daze as I immediately pull back both of us breathless.
She was drunk
She wasn't thinking straight
She didn't mean any of this
I was taking advantage of her and this needed to stop now. "Y-you have to sleep Jess" I whispers as I lift myself off her. She pouts but yawn right after as she eyes being to droop and nods like a child being told what to do, "Okay". She pulls me down beside her and cuddles into me. I sigh as I let her settle into me and play with her hair as she slowly starts to drift off. "Night Lee". "N-night Jessie" I whisper softly before she snoring into my chest.
What the fuck did I just do
(Present)
"Jess you were drunk you didn't mean it" I sigh and step back a bit but she just follows me, "Lee stop acting like you know what I'm thinking! Why do you keep pushing me away?" I shake my head, "Jess we can't". For the first time ever Jessie seemed royally pissed and shouted at me, "Why not?" My eyes widen as it's the first time I've ever heard Jessie raise her voice and I think she sees my shock as she takes a deep breath before speaking, "Elliot, ever since we met there was always something about you that drew me to you. Even after you pulled me into that pool in the hotel after the game. I couldn't stop thinking about you and you always make me laugh without fail. You made my day a little bit brighter just by calling me. Making friends isn't the easiest for me but with you it was so effortless. I like you Elliot and I'm pretty sure you like me too so why won't you give us a chance?"
I gulp and put some distance between us, "Why me?" Jess scrunches her face up confused, "What do you mean?" I sigh, "I mean why would you like me. I'm damaged goods. You deserve so much better than me Jess. Why would you want someone like me when you could have someone normal. When you could have Mal?"
She just shakes her head and closes the distance and cups my face, "Because I don't want Mal, I just want you Elliot. And your not damaged, you have survived so much and your still such an amazing person even after all that's happened. I don't think you see how amazing you really are. I want to be with you Lee please just give this a chance". "How could you want to be with someone like me?" I whimper.
"Because you don't realise how amazingly perfect you are and I'm going to make it my mission to get you to see how I see you"
"How do you see me?"
"Someone's who's absolutely perfect and a bright shining light in so many people's lives".
I try to find any doubt or lies on her face but I see nothing all I can see is her waiting for my reaction and lightly brushes my hair behind my ear. I think back to what Daan told me back in England.
"I've known you long enough to know that 9 times out of 10, you will always choose to put someone else before yourself. Sometimes you have to look out for yourself Ellie. It's okay to be a little selfish".
I slowly lean up to her and hesitate when our noses brush off each off and I look to see if she will pull away but after I see nothing I kiss her gently. She returns the kiss immediately and unlike the last one which was fast and sloppy, this was slow and passionate as our lips met in a firm kiss. Her hands stay on my face while my hands ball up the front of her shirt shirt. I pull away after a few minutes due to lack of oxygen but she is quick to chase me and brings me into another kiss which I happily return.
Maybe it's okay to be a bit selfish sometimes
.............
"Are you still sure you want this?" I ask as I play with the ends of her hair while we lay in my bed cuddling. She hovers over me and gives me a quick kiss, "Does that answer your question?" I quirk an eyebrow, "I don't think I understand. Maybe you should repeat it a few times".
She grins as she leans down slowly, "I think I could do that" she whispers. She gives me a few lingering kisses but always pulling away leaving me wanting more. "Tease" I whimper as she pulls aways. She grins and winks down at me, "You know it". I bite my lip, "Where is all this confidence coming from? Where's the shy adorable dork that I know?" She lays down beside me and shrugs, "I thought I would try it out".
I turn my head and she does the same while I slip my hand into hers, "Although I like the confidence. I also like the blushy introvert as well". Her face instantly turns red and I laugh as I poke her cheek. She huffs and nudges my shoulder while we lay there enjoying the moment. She looks down at my hand in her and she carefully runs her thumb over my knuckles which is still slightly red and a little bruised but a lot better than what they use to be. "Hey it's okay. They're almost better now" I reassure when I see a small frown come to her face.
"Yeah but you got hurt" she mutters as she focuses on my hands. I stop her from inspecting my hands and bring them to closer to my face and kiss both her hands, "I will always do everything in my power to protect you. I would do anything for you". She blushes but a grin overtakes her face, "That's so sappy". I burst out laughing and she joins in and I hide myself in her shoulder.
I bite my lip and think for a minute before I sighs and bite the bullet, "Do you want to tell people about us?" She lets out a breath, "What do you want?" I think for a beat before answering, "Well I mean I wouldn't mind being public". "But" Jessie smiles. "But I also want to explore this without being put under pressure by others. I don't want the fans or media ruining this before it's even started. I care about you too much to let people try and tell us how we should act" I admit. "Yeah I was kinda thinking the same. I rather be with you than an expectation of you by other people" she agrees.
"You know some people on the team have a bet on us you know" I chuckle. "About what?" She asks hugging me into her. "Well Teagan thinks that you and Mal are going to get together. While Hailee is apparently rooting for Mal and I together" I laugh. "Does seriously no one suspect that we could have gotten together? I mean we do spend a lot of time with each other? And why Mal?" She questions while laughing. I shrug, "People have only really seen us together with other people. They haven't really seen how we act when we're alone I guess". I cuddle into her more
"They don't know about us".
...............
"Sup Mal Pal" I grin as I walk up to the booth she was sitting at in he cafe we agreed to meet up at. She rolled her eyes but smiles at me regardless, "Hey Ellie. How was Jessie this morning?" I can't help the smile that adorns my face, "She's a lot better now. I think she recovered from the shock. She seemed good this morning". Mal nods as she sips her drink, "Well that's good".
I look over my best friend and can tells she's acting strange. She is playing with the cup in front of her and won't even look at me properly, "Okay what's up?" She snaps her head up at me, "What?" I raise an eyebrow at her, "Well your acting weird. You won't even look at me. There's obviously something on your mind. So you wanna talk about it?" She sighs and goes back to playing with her cup as she twists it in her hands. I put a hand on her hand and gives her a small smile when she looks up at me, "Mal we're best friends. You said you are always here for me whenever I need it. That isn't a one way street you can always talk to me if you need it. Like you said we'll figure it out".
She lets out a breath and gives me a small smile of thanks before answering, "I don't think I can do this anymore". My eyebrows scrunch together, "What do you mean?" She sighs, "I just..I don't think college is really right for me. I just don't feel like this is what I'm meant to be doing. I love playing with the Bruins but I just don't feel right in a classroom". I hum, "So your thinking of dropping out?" She pushes her hair out of her face, "Yeah I mean I could go pro. I had a lot of offer before I committed to UCLA, but there's a big step up from college to going into a professional league".
"Mal your forgetting your already a world class player. You've already played in the Olympics against professionals a lot older than you. If you don't think college is right for you anymore, I have more than enough faith in you to go pro" I smile at her. She bites her lip but she can't hold the smile off her face, "What will my parents think? They seems so happy when I accepted the scholarship. I just don't want to disappoint them".
"How about I help you call them and explain it to them? Mal they're you parents and I've met them you can tell that they only want what's best for you. And if that's dropping out of college then they will be on board". I offer. She smiles at me grateful, "Thanks Ellie that would be great". I get out of the booth and stand up, "Your welcome now text your parents and ask can we call them in a few minutes to talk". She nods and shoots off a quick text before she stands up and gives me a hug. I laugh before throwing my arm around her and walking back to our dorm.
It seemed like Mal's nerves started to flare up again once we got back to the dorm about to call her parents as she paced the room. "Mal calm down everything will be fine". She nods and checks her phone when it dings, "They're ready". I pat the space beside me, "Well let's get this started". She sighs and sits down beside me and I take her hand and give it a small squeeze, "I'll be right here if you need anything". She gives me one last smile before she facetimes her mom who picks up almost immediately, "Hey honey! How are you?"
Mal smiles lightly, "Hey mom I'm fine. Is dad there I want to talk to you guys about something". Her face becomes concerned as she pulls back the phone to show us her dad is there as well, "Yeah he's here with me. Is everything okay?" She takes a deep breath and I give her hands another squeeze, "Yeah it's just. I don't think I can do this anymore". "Do what?" Her dad asks. Mal sighs, "I've been thinking about dropping out of college for a while now. It just doesn't feel like the right fit for me. I don't think I'm meant to be in a classroom all I want to do is play soccer".
Her parents looked shocked but he dad speaks up, "So you've been thinking of dropping out?" Mal nods, "Yeah I could go pro. I got offers before I came to UCLA and I talked to Washington Spirit and they said they're offer still stands. And if I drop out of UCLA and go pro that means more time to improve and out time into training". I lean onto Mal shoulder so they can see me as well, "If she goes pro as well she's be easier to recognise and grow a name for herself. Sponsors and brand deals are more likely to spot her if she goes pro as no one really offers them to college students". "Don't you have one with Nike?" Mal laughs. I roll my eyes while her parents laughs as well, "That different I played professional before I came here and I got it while I was at Arsenal. And so far they haven't told me they want to stop so I still have it". "But anyways if she drops out of college, instead of wasting time doing something she isn't interested in she can develop faster which will help her in the long term goal".
Her parents nod along with me as they think over my words. "How much have you thought about this?" Her mom questions. "Well I have talked to a few on the national team. I asked Lindsey about how it was for her skipping college and I talked to Coach Cromwell, Bri and Ellie" Mal answers. "And your sure this is what you want?" Horace asks. Mal nods, "Yes". The two share a look And smile at Mal, "Then we support you a hundred percent".
A smile over takes Mal's face and she lets out a small squeal, "Thank god. Are you sure you guys aren't mad?" "If this is what you want Mal then you do it" her mom encourages. We stay on and talk to them for a while before we hang up and Mal lies back on the bed, "Well that went well". I chuckle, "Yeah. See I told you they would support you". She rolls her eyes, "Yeah yeah your always right". "Just do me a favour and don't forget me when your all famous" I tease as I lie down next to her. She chuckles and hugs me, "Don't worry you'll always be my best friend". "Good now let's get some food" I smile and Mal gets up beside me.
.................
"Hey Lee" I look to up to see Jess walk into the room and I smile, "Hi". She leans down and gives me a quick peck before sitting down beside me, "where's Mal?" I shrug, "I think she said something about going to Anika's room or something". "Well you made Hailee very happy today" Jess says with a small laugh and smirk. "And why's that?" I ask while I lie my legs across her lap.
"There's pictures of you and Mal going around while you two were in the cafe today. It's just pictures of you guys hugging and you putting your hand on hers" Jessie laughs while she starts moving her hand up and down my shin. I snort, "Jesus it's only been a day and there's already pictures of me with another woman. Does that make you jealous Freckles?" She rolls her eyes at me, "No because I know I'm the only one who gets to do this". She cups one side of my face while her other hand stills on my leg and gives me a slow kiss.
I smile into the kiss and she does the same and I hook my arms around her. "No one else Canada. Your the only one for me" I whisper into her shoulder and place a kiss on the underside of her jaw. "So what did you do with Mal today? I didn't really get to see you today" The Canadian asks. I put my ear against her chest as I listen to her heartbeat while I play with the drawstrings if her hoodie, "You can't tell anyone yet but Mal is thinking about dropping out and going pro". "Oh seriously! Wow. Does she know where she's going?" Jess asks. "I think Washington" I reply while I fix the drawstrings so that they are the same length.
"Would...would you think about going pro early?" Jessie asks as she hugs me a little tighter. I pull back a tiny bit so that I'm still in her embrace but she can see me, "I don't think so. I'm pretty happy here and it's important to me that I graduate. So I don't see myself going pro anytime soon". I kiss her cheek and snuggle back into her.
"Beside I just got you, I'm not leaving anytime soon"
Hey guys!!! So to apologize for the last time I updated (a week ago since I left you hanging with that last chapter) I decided on a double update!!! And I have a feeling that many of you guys are going to be happy especially with this chapter. So Elliot and Jessie are finally, all it took was Jessie nearly dying...but they're together so it's fine right? Also question do you guys like me describing the match scenes or should I just give an brief description of the match or should I keep writing the matches? Anyways I hope you enjoyed. Until next time, bye!!