United in Break-Up

Chapter 10

After all of the Arsenal players had paid their bills, they left the restaurant for the next pub. The mood was relaxed and cheerful, since it was the last day of the training camp and everyone deserved a bit of fun after all the effort of the last few days. Beth, in particular, was happy that the entire team had joined in that evening and felt like going out to have a little celebration of the end of the training camp. In situations like this, surrounded by all her teammates, many of whom have become her friends over the past few years, Beth felt especially at ease. Arsenal and all the people there were such an important of her world - and even if that world was briefly shattered after the break-up with Danielle, it was in these moments like this that her world was put back together again.

However, Beth was now very aware that among all her teammates, there was one woman in particular to whom she owed this feeling. Since training camp, the mood between Vivianne and her had changed noticeably - ever since they put aside their conflict over Beth wanting to switch rooms, Beth had felt that Vivianne, too, treated and looked at her a little differently than before. After the evening when Vivianne had left her hand on hers during the movie in the movie room, she woke up in the middle of the night and realized that the Dutchwoman had put her arm around her while she slept - Beth couldn't believe it at that moment, but was even more pleased when Vivianne lovingly woke her up for breakfast the next morning. She could get so used to all of that!

Leah, who was the only one who knew about her crush on the Dutchwoman, had also noticed the change between the two women. As team captain, she was particularly attentive to how emotions changed within the team - and the fact that the two of them patted each other on the back appreciatively for longer than necessary when congratulating each other on a goal, or that Beth held the door open for the Dutchwoman, was impossible for her to miss. With that in mind, she briefly took Beth aside again at the pub as they both stood at the bar for their drinks. "So, Viv seems to have forgotten about her interest in Russo, and somehow I get the feeling that in return she's now turning her attention to you instead. Are you planning on making a move on her, Meado?" whispered Leah to her.

Beth blushed, was it so obvious that maybe there was at least a little flirtation going on between the two of them? Of course, ever since she got the feeling that Vivianne might like her too, she'd gone on the offense every now and then - and now that she knew there didn't seem to be anything going on with Alessia, she was finding it downright hard to focus on anything but the cute Dutchwoman anyway. "I don't know, should I?" asked Beth simply back. Leah just shrugged her shoulders while saying, "I don't know that either - but it doesn't seem far-fetched to me that there might be some interest from Viv's side as well. Maybe next time you'll be a little more careful about holding hands in the movie room, though - Jordan's already asked me about it." This really made Beth uncomfortable. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry to have put you in that situation!" apologized Beth, "But you can really also imagine that she likes me more than a friend?" Leah nodded and pointed in the direction behind Beth, "I guess so. I mean, look who's waving at you from the pool table right now!" Beth turned and saw the Dutchwoman standing at the other end of the room with two pool cues in her hands. She indeed waved at Beth, grinning provocatively, making it clear that she wanted to challenge her to a match.

"I guess I'll head over there then. Let's see what other moves I'm going to pull out tonight," Beth said to Leah as she gave Vivianne a thumbs-up to signal that she was about to come over to her. Before she could turn around, she felt Leah's hand on her shoulder. "Sure, I wouldn't keep her waiting either. But Beth, please take care of yourself and of Vivianne too, flirting and relationships within teams can be difficult. I speak from experience there - please don't do anything without thinking," Leah whispered to her again. With this final sentence, Beth nodded once more to her captain and headed towards the pool table.

To greet her, Vivianne pressed the cue and a shot of booze into her hand. "Cheers to beating you now!" the Dutchwoman grinned at her teammate. "Well, I guess we'll see about that! What are we playing for?" the Englishwoman cheekily replied. The liquor was burning in her throat and when she took a sip of her beer afterwards, she realized that alcohol was already getting into her head a bit after all. "I don't know, suggest something if you're so confident of winning!" laughed Vivianne with a grin that was at least as cheeky as Beth's. Beth didn't really know this side of Vivianne yet, was this her way of flirting offensively? This was definitely the moment to make a move. Beth only had to get over herself once, and the alcohol would certainly come in handy for that. She took another sip of her drink and took a deep breath. "How about a kiss from the loser for the winner?" suggested Beth, looking Vivianne straight in the eye. Now it was out what she wanted and there was no going back. She said what she said and now it was Vivianne's turn to go for it or not. What felt like an eternity passed, with both of them just looking at each other very intently - until Vivianne couldn't hold her gaze any longer and turned away with another slightly shy smile. "All right, deal! You may begin then!" said Vivivanne. That this move was a hit was something Beth noticed right away - she thought it was especially cute how Vivianne went from confident yet back to shy when she flirted more offensively. And the fact that she agreed to the stakes for the game in particular brought an ear-to-ear grin to her face. Though she cheered inwardly, she still hoped that she hadn't scared Vivianne off after all - perhaps she had dismissed it as a joke, but that would probably remain to be seen after the game...

Beth sank the first billiard balls directly with the kick-off. She was quite a good billiard player, since she had played it in pubs quite often in the past. Vivianne followed suit, but Beth also kept hitting the balls into the pockets. At one point she was way in the lead, while Vivianne had been desperately missing some balls for several rounds. "Alright, Miedema, big mouth, nothing behind it?" toned Beth as she took her cue for the final shot for the black ball. She was a little nervous, but even in situations like this, it showed that she worked best under pressure - she hit and sank the ball into the pocket of the table. Inwardly she cheered at the win, but still tried to play it cool. "I'm waiting for the kiss!" she simply said, turning around and walking over to the others, who had already told them during the game that they were going to move on to the nightclub soon.

When everyone was outside and about to head for the club, after only a few hundred meters Beth suddenly felt a hand grab her and pull her back. It was Vivianne, who took her by the hand and dragged her along without looking to see if Beth was even following. Beth's heart started beating faster right away when she noticed the determined steps of the usually bashful Dutchwoman. She didn't know where Vivianne was leading her, but noticed that the other teammates continued walking their way to the club without noticing her disappearance. At that moment, Beth was snapped out of her thoughts by a movement from Vivianne. She felt her back pressed against a cold wall and the Dutchwoman's warm hands gently pressing against her shoulders. Beth had not expected this, and in addition to her pounding heart, she also noticed the adrenaline and pleasure shooting through her body. She raised her gaze and looked Vivianne directly in the eyes. Her normally kind and bright blue eyes were noticeably darker in the light of the street lamp - but Beth could also see something in those eyes that she usually only knew from her on the football pitch: A whole lot of passion. But the tension also seemed to be written all over her face - she did return Beth's gaze, but her body still seemed to just tremble with nervousness as her eyes kept jumping from Beth's eyes down to her lips and back to her eyes again.

Beth took a heart, she didn't want Vivianne to feel uncomfortable. "If you like, you can kiss me now - but you don't have to, it was just a stake in a game," Beth whispered softly to Vivianne. She detected a timid nod in response, which was so unlike the Vivianne who had pushed her against the wall here in the dark side street. Nevertheless, she noticed how the Dutchwoman had already made her decision. Without averting eye contact now, she placed her hand on Beth's cheek and brought it closer to her face. Beth closed her eyes and a short time later felt a pair of soft lips settle on hers. It was tentative and shy, just a small and short peck at first. But Beth wanted more than that. This already felt good, but then what would it be like to kiss Vivianne properly? She also made a decision and wrapped her arms around the neck of the taller woman. She wanted her closer and pulled her body to her so that they were in full contact. She placed her hands on the back of Vivianne's head and gently pulled it down to her - now it was Beth who placed her lips on those of her teammate. But this time Vivianne seemed to engage in the kiss as well, it was no longer a short smooch, but a real kiss, that was true and deep. Beth felt nothing but Vivianne's lips moving over her own. It was gentle and a little clumsy, but she couldn't help but smile over and over in that kiss. Of course, the world continued to spin around them, but for the two of them, this kiss lasted an eternity.