“No rush.” Shannon beamed as they looked out across the field where both the Freedom and Pride were warming up.
Lily scanned the field, looking for Wren’s distinctive curly hair, but was unable to find her.That’s weird. Wren should definitely be out on here already. She scanned again, looking for the number thirteen jersey—and then she spotted her.
“Oh my god,” Lily said in pure disbelief.
It was Wren—there was no mistaking those gangly limbs. Lily was at a loss for words.
“Parker!” Shannon called, catching Wren’s attention. “Hey, Parker! Get over here.”
Wren saw them, a wide smile spreading across her face as she jogged over to them, but all Lily could focus on was Wren’s hair, or lack thereof. Where she used to have long, wild, messy dark ringlets was now a platinum blond buzz cut.
“Jesus Christ, Parker, your hair!” Shannon exclaimed, reaching out to run her hand over Wren’s buzzed head.
“I know, right!? I was going for Beckham circa 2000 and I think I nailed it.” Wren beamed, running her hand over her scalp, resting at the back of her head.
Lily was still staring at her. Seeing Wren without her signature curls was surreal. It felt weird, like she was looking at an entirely different person.
“Kick ass today, Parker,” Shannon said, clapping Wren on the back before moving on to a group of retired USWNT members doing a pregame show a little ways down the field.
“Your hair,” Lily finally whispered, unable to tear her eyes away from the buzz cut as Wren watched her nervously.
It looked amazing. Wren definitely had the bone structure to pull it off. The contrast of the blond with her naturally dark eyebrows made her eyes pop even more than usual. But it was so different and so beyond what Lily had even expected when Wren had told her to prepare herself mentally. She at least had been right about one thing—it was epic.
“Can I touch it?” she asked, a million questions already popping into her brain. Where did Wren get the idea for this? When did she do it? Why did she do it? But none of those were important right now.
“Yeah, of course. It feels so cool, right?” Wren breathed a sigh of relief, smiling and bending down so Lily could reach the top of her head. “You like it, right? I mean, I know it’s really different, but it’s just hair. It’ll grow back eventually. I did it yesterday on a whim—thought it would be cool, you know, since it’s such a big game,” Wren rambled, her nervousness creeping into her words.
“I love it, but it’sdefinitelydifferent. It’s going to take some getting used to,” Lily said honestly.
Wren grinned. “I know, I keep jumpscaring myself every time I see my reflection.”
“Parker, let’s go, get on the field,” one of the coaching staff members called over to her.
“Crap, I gotta go.” Wren jerked her thumb over her shoulder, indicating her need to go back out to warm up.
“Yeah, okay.” Lily looked from Wren’s hair to her eyes, seeing the worry still present in her gaze. “Come here.” She pressed up onto her tiptoes, snaking her hand to the back of Wren’s neck, pulling her lips to hers. “Go win it all, superstar,” she whispered before letting go.
Wren beamed at her, cheeks tinted pink. “That’s the plan.” She jogged off as Lily made her way to the VIP box to join her mom and Nell.
After a few wrong turns and a very helpful stadium worker, she found the suites. Her pocket vibrated, and she pulled her phone out to see texts from Dylan.
Dylan 5:03 PM
WTF did Wren do to her hair?
Dylan 5:03 PM
It’s all over social media.
Dylan 5:04 PM
But you two look adorable in this picture.
Attached to Dylan’s last text was a photo snapped a few minutes ago, showing the pregame kiss she had shared with Wren down on the field. Lily rolled her eyes—this was exactly why she stayed off social media for the most part these days. She had her private account, the one with a handle no one in their right mind would ever figure out where she posted a few things here and there about her life to a small group of close friends and family, but her public-facing account had pretty much sat dormant since she finished up her last brand deals.
Dylan was right, though, the picture was a cute one of her and Wren. She tapped the photo, saving it to her phone as she typed out her response.
Lily 5:05 PM
