Only Friends

Chapter 10 - London Derby

It was now January, and all of England was in a massive Lockdown, as the cases just kept rising and rising. Thankfully, the league continued but only under the harshest conditions and restrictions. Although, none of us complained because we got to continue to play the game we love. We played throughout the winter. I often complained that I was freezing cold. English winters are very cold and being Australian, you never quite get used to it. 

"Does it ever get any warmer?" I asked the girls in the locker room as I nuzzled into Jill. She wrapped her arms around me trying to keep me warm. At this point, although the girls do not know for sure whether we are together, and although we haven't confirmed anything, most of the girls do know and do suspect.
"No," Jordan said, "It doesn't. It is this bloody cold all the time." Leah and the rest of the girls nodded in agreement.
"Fabulous," I say, through chattering teeth. Once we get out on the pitch, and start running and training, I do start to warm up, thankfully.

Our game on the weekend is against Chelsea, and it is going to be a tough one. Versing Sam is never nice, but it goes beyond our friendship. Arsenal and Chelsea have a rivalry now which has been going on for quite a few years, and normally it is our two teams that are in the running for the cup. Chelsea and Arsenal are sitting 1st and 2nd respectively on the ladder, and a win today, would mean we would go ahead of Chelsea.

Game day starts like no other. I pick up Jill and we head to the ground. We listen to our favourite hype music, and sing as loudly as possible, trying to not think too much about the game. If I think too much about the game, I won't perform my best. I need to go into it with a clear mind.

When we get to the ground, the team list is announced. Leah, Sari, Katie, Lia and I will make up the back line. Kim, Lisa, Daan and Jill will make up the midfielders, and Beth and Viv will be the forwards. Caitlin is injured and so is Jordan.
The game was about to start and we lined up on the pitch. I stood next to Viv and Jill, our arms wrapped around each other.

The first half of the game ended 0-0. The game was completely defence orientated. When Chelsea had the ball in their square, the press was too intense and always ended up in a turnover. Similarly, when we had the ball in our box, we couldn't even get a shot in. Leah and I both had so many tackles and intercepted passes, due to the extreme press we were putting on Chelsea. Sam, who is normally the stand out player, couldn't even get the ball, because the marking was so precise. Training really helped us out. When we got into the change room for half time, we were pleased that we had not conceded any goals, but frustrated that we didn't have any for ourselves. The manager sat with Beth and Viv, trying desperately to work out how to evade the press and get more shots in.
After half time, we went back onto the pitch and started playing again. Frustration started to peak through when it was the 80th minute and it was still 0-0. The frustration, however, was more evident on the Chelsea defence. In the 82nd minute, we had a break. An intercepted pass from myself was pushed out in front of Viv and as she raced down the field, and was about to shoot, she was fouled by the captain of Chelsea, Magdalena Eriksson, and a free kick was awarded. We had the chance to go 1 up in the final 10 minutes and the role went to Kim Little. Kim is a gun when it comes to penalty shots and today was no different. As the Chelsea goalkeeper went to block the shot on the right, Kim placed the kick in the top left corner. We were up. We jumped on Kim and started to get ready to play out the next ten minutes safely.
When the final whistle sounded, we were elated. We won against Chelsea. It was as if we had won the final, although we hadn't. The high in the locker room was immense. We were dancing and singing, and stuffing our faces with pizza and chips. Jill and I were dancing on the table, eating our pizza while trying to sing - not a good combination I think.
"Girls," I started to scream, "we fucking did it! We should never doubt ourselves becaues we can pull the fuck through!" All the girls cheersed to that and screamed; so elated that we had won a high pressure, stressful game.

Jill and I got in the car, and I headed to her place to drop her off.
"Wanna come in?" She asked, "for a drink?" I nodded my head and parked the car. I grabbed her hand as we walked up the front steps into her apartment. Once we got inside her place, she picked me up and sat me on the kitchen counter top, while kissing me softly and yet harshly at the same time. My legs wrapped around her body as she held me tight, not letting go as she kissed my neck, and collarbone.
"I thought," I started to say between kisses, "that we were getting a drink?"
"I'm actually okay," she replied, laughing, still kissing my neck and face.
"I'm really gross," I said, "we did just play 90 minutes of soccer."
"I do not care," She replied, picking me up again and taking me to the couch. We were slow but rapid, knowing what we wanted and where. She held me with her arms as I sat on her lap, kissing her hard, our tongues dancing. She pulled me closer, her hands on my soccer shorts. We kept going, not wanting to stop.

I woke up the next morning, my legs wrapped in hers, elated with what occurred earlier. I nuzzled my head into her shoulder to wake her up. She stirred, but only slightly.
"Jilly," I said, kissing her lips, then cheeks, then nose, then neck.
"I could wake up like this everyday," she said to me, her eyes still closed. I go on top of her and kiss her deeply until her eyes open.
"Time to get up," I said as I got out of the bed and went into the kitchen. I saw her stumble out of bed and walk towards me.
I made her breakfast, and we spent the day together. I then started to think I may be falling in love with Jill Roord...

Note:
- hope you are liking the series so far
- let me know if you want any specific tropes or relationships :)