“Why did you let her talk to me like that? You didn’t even say anything.” The hurt in her words hung between them as Wren shifted uncomfortably, still not speaking. “And since when are you drinking on weeknights?” Lily added, annoyance replacing her hurt.
“That’s just Sydney, Lil. You know how she can be. She’s kind of a bitch to everyone. Eventually, you sort of tune that part of her personality out.” Wren shrugged, flexing her hands before balling them into fists and shoving them in her pockets.
“That’s not an answer, Wren, that’s an excuse.” Lily cocked her head to the side, her long blond ponytail slipping out from under her hood. “And what about the drinking?”
“Lily, c’mon.” There it was, that adorable lopsided smile pulling at the corners of Wren’s mouth. “It’s not a big deal. Syd and I have just been having fun trying some different IPAs. It’s like one beer a week, max.”
Lily eyed Wren closely, searching for anything hidden behind her words, but she came up empty-handed. Her shoulders relaxed as she let her guard down.
“In the future, when Sydney’s being a bitch to me, can you just, like, say something to her?”
“Yeah, of course,” Wren agreed nervously, reaching out to wrap her arms around Lily.
Lily welcomed the gesture, sinking into Wren’s gangly embrace as the bus rounded the corner. “You don’t have to takeme all the way to the ferry,” she muttered into the fabric of Wren’s coat.
Wren pressed her lips to Lily’s forehead, making her smile as the warmth of the kiss spread throughout her body. “What if I want to?”
“Fine. I’ll allow it.” Lily grinned, leaning back.
“Good, because I want as much time with you as I can get. You’re my good luck charm, and if we’re going to win the semi-finals against Minneapolis, I need to soak up as much of you as I can get,” Wren said as the purple city bus pulled up in front of them, hissing to a stop before opening its doors.
Not only did Wren’s team go on to win their game against Minneapolis FC, but Wren also came out the hero when the entire game came down to penalty kicks. Wren scored the game-deciding goal, advancing Puget Sound Pride on to the championship match, where they would be facing off against Nell’s team, the Philadelphia Freedom.
Lily was ecstatic for Wren. She understood what it meant to dedicate your life to sport and the incredible feeling of being at the top of your game—something she currently couldn’t feel further from herself, but still, she was happy for Wren. Watching her succeed felt like succeeding herself, and she couldn’t be prouder.
The following weekend, Lily, her mom, and Nell arrived at the stadium where the NWSL championship game was taking place. Nell handed them their VIP stadium credentials as they headed into the venue.
“So what’s this big surprise Wren’s been going on about?” her mom asked as they each stepped through the security checkpoint.
“I don’t know.” Lily shrugged. “Wren just said to prepare myself because it’s going to be epic—her words exactly.” She grabbed her crossbody purse from the table where the security guard had placed it after sending it through a scanner, draping it over the shoulder of the patchwork hoodie she had made specifically for this game out of Wren’s old jerseys and team gear.
Lily, going slowly crazy adjusting to the slower pace of life now that gymnastics wasn’t consuming all of her time, had decided she needed a hobby. Sewing had always been something she was interested in, but never quite had the time for. Well, now she had time, and it turned out she was pretty good at it. She enjoyed the distraction of coming up with unique clothing combinations crafted out of thrifted materials.
“I’m going to head fieldside to try and catch Wren before coming up to the box. See you guys soon.”
Lily waved goodbye to her mom and Nell as she made her way towards field level. As she approached, she spotted Shannon York, one of Wren’s former teammates and Jamie’s Empower Business partner. Shannon had retired from professional soccer the year before to dedicate herself full-time to running Empower Ventures.
“Lily, hey!” Shannon greeted her warmly. “You heading to the field too?”
Lily nodded, and they walked together in the same direction. When Jamie had first started working with Shannon, it was a little weird. Long before Jamie introduced them, the same day Wren and Lily had met, Lily had been a massive fan of Shannon’s. Then, suddenly, she’d come home from the gym all sweaty and gross, and Shannon freaking York would justcasually be drinking wine with her mama and Jamie on a random Tuesday.
“Where did you get that hoodie?” Shannon asked, eyeing her sweatshirt. “It’s incredible!”
Lily looked down at the garment, at the crooked seams and fraying threads in a few places, smiling weakly. “Oh, I actually made it. Wren gave me a bunch of her old gear that she wasn’t using anymore, and I used it to make this. I was also working on a matching pair of sweatpants, but I kind of messed those up, and they didn’t make the final cut.”
“You made it? Wow, very cool. I might have to commission you to make one for me from my old stuff. I’ve got a box of it sitting in my closet taking up space.”
Lily blinked, slightly surprised by Shannon’s enthusiasm, again looking down at her sweatshirt to see if Shannon was indeed seeing what Lily saw when she looked at the garment—a learning experiment.
“Really? You’d want one?” she asked curiously, tucking her hair nervously behind her ear. A security guard blocked their way. Shannon and Lily quickly flashed their badges, allowing them access to the field.
“Absolutely! How much do you charge for them?”
“Oh, I don’t—I mean, I, like,justlearned how to make these. It’s not even that good.”
“So what I’m hearing you say is $200.” Shannon smiled slyly. “Works for me. I’ll text Jared to mail the box to your mom’s house.”
“Yeah, okay, I guess. It might take me a little while to make,” she said hesitantly, still a little uncomfortable with the idea of making something for someone else.
