Love in extra time

1st minute

A spread of clothes led astray across a room, a sea of white and black and blue. Sunlight crept through the thin gap of the curtains and onto the bed, highlighting the droplets of sweat that dripped down Beth's forehead as she became increasingly frustrated. Leah Williamson, her roommate, had already left for England camp and Beth was convinced she'd taken half of her things with her too.

She cursed the niggling injury that had kept her back a few extra hours as she scurried around in search of her boots. How hard could it be to find a pair of football boots in a three-bed flat, especially one that belonged to two professional football players?

Panic was dissipating from her fingers as she scrambled around to find the rest of her kit. Just as she flipped the lid of her suitcase closed, a screen illuminated itself amongst the crumples of duvet and blankets.

What time are you getting here? the text read. It was Beth England, her girlfriend.

The girls had met at an England U23s camp in 2015. Beth had been quite shy back then, always keeping to herself in training as to not overstep or cause the attention to be drawn towards her. England found this endearing, of course, and managed to admire Beth from afar for a while without being caught.

-

The sky had been blue on the particular day they had met, not a cloud of white in sight. Chatter had fluttered across the gentle breeze as the squad gathered on the grass for technical training. Beth stood with her fingers entwined and legs crossed slightly; her gaze glued to the ground.

"Beth, you'll be in group three," their coach had directed and Beth raised her head to find England's on the other side of the group. She, of course, had already been staring Beth down.

A small, cheeky smile emerged on England's face and she caused Beth to blush, quickly averting her eyes back to the coach.

"Sorry, I mean both of you," the coach had clarified. Beth nodded once, untangling her body to begin making her way over to the other players in group three. England had done the same, but drifted to the right just enough to reach Beth first.

"I'm going to have to come up with a nickname for you, you know. Having two Beths might be a little confusing," England had joked, bumping a friendly shoulder into Beth's. Their inch in height difference made the task relatively easy. Nervous, Beth stumbled slightly to the right and England quickly reached a hand around her waist to help her regain her balance.

Her hand gently gripped Beth's hip almost naturally, and Beth found herself oddly comfortable against the side of her chest. For a brief moment, Beth turned her head to the left and was met with a pair of soft brown eyes already staring into her own.

"Alright there?" England smiled. Beth managed a small nod, becoming increasingly aware that her lips were slightly parted and extremely dry. Her tongue crept out of her mouth to lick them quickly, and her breath got caught in her throat as England's eyes darted down to watch.

It was like time had stopped, yet their feet kept moving, and England's hand on Beth's hip didn't move. It wasn't that she couldn't walk away, but more that she didn't want to. It had been almost a week of watching from afar, admiring every small detail of this girl's being, and right then was her chance to soak up what it felt like to be that close to Beth.

Leah coughed, raising an eyebrow as they both turned their heads towards the group. Beth felt England's fingertips glide delicately across her back as she removed her hand, and she closed her eyes to take in the sensation of having England's touch on her body.

The moment the contact ceased, Beth was thrown back into reality. Leah had a confused expression across her face and she strutted towards Beth with a furrowed brow. England had already joined in with the group, picking up a ball as she ran. Beth watched in a newfound curiosity as she dribbled the ball with ease around Millie Bright and booted it into the back of the net.