Number 15 - Katie McCabe

7

Before I knew it, I was in Leah's house. As soon as we got in the door, it didn't take us long to gravitate back to each other. Her hands find my waist as I hold her against the wall in her hallway, my fingers in her hair. Leah angles her head to deepen the kiss while sliding her hands up my body, exploring it with her fingers as she drags her nails over my skin, causing me to shiver from her touch. She laughs slightly through the kiss before bringing her hands up to my face, one cradling my cheek, the other sliding to the back of my neck. I pull away from the kiss while moving my lips to her neck, scattering light kisses along her jawline as I slowly make my way down, kissing the skin behind her ear. Leah moves her face to the side to give me more access to her neck, giving me the confidence to keep going. I lightly suck down on her skin and a quiet moan escapes her mouth, signalling to me that I've found her sweet spot. I take my time on that one patch of skin, her breathing fastening and heartbeat speeding up as I do, I smile against her collarbone, knowing the effect I have on her in this moment. She grabs my face and pulls me back up to her, I laugh at the sudden movement, placing my lips on hers again quickly before pulling away. It's silent for a moment as we rest our heads against one another to catch our breath, and we start laughing. "So..." I start, not knowing what to say.

"So..." Leah replies while smiling, her cheeks turning pink as I stare into her icy blue eyes. "What?" She laughs again.

"You're just so beautiful." I smile, pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. It's true, I don't know how I didn't notice until now. The way her blonde hair falls effortlessly past her shoulders, the way she laughs at a joke, the way her eyes light up when she smiles.

"Stop." Leah blushes while giving me a playful push. "Do you want to stay for a movie?" She asks. I look at the time on my phone, it's 3:30 and I have to pick up Kiko at 4. I groan knowing that I have to leave.

"I would, but I have to pick Kiko up from doggy daycare." I sigh, pressing my head against her chest in annoyance.

"Hey, it's okay, I'm seeing you tomorrow anyway." Leah says while stroking my head before I look up in confusion.

"But we don't have training tomorrow?" I question as it's Friday and we only have training during the week.

"Oh, Beth and Viv are having a party at theirs tomorrow. I'm sorry, I thought you were in the Arsenal group chat, I'll add you once you leave. All the details are on there." She says while playing with my hair with her fingers, our faces still inches from one another. I lift her chin up with my finger and press my lips against hers again, intending for it to be quick, but it soon turns heated. Leah's hands roaming my body again. It's almost as though she's a magnet and I can't stay away from her. I sigh into the kiss, knowing that I have to leave.

"Leah..." I breathe out as I rest my head against hers for the second time.

"I know, I'll see you tomorrow. Thank you for driving me home." She replies lustfully, staring directly into my eyes before giving me a quick peck.

"I'm glad I did." I smirk against her cheek before making an annoyed face as I make my way out of her door, causing her to laugh while she closes it, giving me a small wave goodbye.

As I drive to pick Kiko up, I can't really comprehend what just happened. I'm not mad about it, but just very surprised. Some part of me wonders where we are going to go from here, I mean it was just one kiss. It didn't really mean anything, right? I don't know if it was the right thing to do. Of course, I'm very attracted to Leah, she's everything I could ever want in a person. She's beautiful, kind, and incredibly talented, but something is holding me back, and I can't quite figure out what it is. My mind mulls over the thought for the whole drive, flicking back to the moment we shared and trying to figure out how I really feel. What if I mess things up? I try to push those thoughts away, what's happened has happened, and I can't change that now. When I arrive at doggy daycare, I'm ten minutes late. If only I didn't drive Leah home, I wouldn't have this anxious pit in my stomach, or be late to pick up my dog. As I walk through the automatic doors, I'm met with a very annoyed worker, glaring at me, probably due to my lateness. I give her a sympathetic look but she doesn't return it. "Name?" She asks, looking down at her screen, a dead and irritated expression plastered on her face.