US.

Chapter Five

When Tobin woke up, she was surprised for a moment to be cuddling with someone, but the memories from the past night quickly filled her memory and she smiled. Alex.

Kelley had already gone to Hope's house, so it was just the two girls in the apartment.

"Do you remember what today is?" Tobin pulled the covers off of herself and slid out of bed.

"Uhhh, some time in August..." Alex said in a sleepy voice.

"August 14th. Victory Tour starts tomorrow!" Tobin grinned and slid some sweatpants on.

"Oh my gosh, yeah! We have to pack!" Alex perked up, remembering that the team would be staying in hotels for the next few weeks as they traveled across the USA, playing a bunch of friendly games to celebrate their World Cup win.

"Come on, let's have a race." Tobin broke into a smile and opened up the closet, pulling both of their US Soccer suitcases out. Alex stepped out of bed and pulled her suitcase into her room.

"Ready, set, GO!" Alex yelled from her bedroom. Tobin opened up her dresser and grabbed a few tee-shirts and pairs of shorts. She grabbed a button-up shirt and some pairs of ripped jeans and sweatpants, then found her training clothes and uniform. Everything was stuffed into her suitcase, and she turned around to grab some shoes and socks.

Meanwhile, Alex was raiding her own closet. She filled her arms with shirts and tank tops, then grabbed some shorts and leggings. She took a moment to admire the third star above the crest on her jersey, and smiled. She heard a knock and turned around to see her tan best friend standing in her doorway with her suitcase by her side.

"No freaking way. It's been like a minute!" Alex laughed and pulled Tobin's bag onto the ground, unzipping it. She looked through the mess of clothes inside of the suitcase, shaking her head.

"How'd I do?" Tobin looked over Alex's shoulder like a puppy.

"You forgot your two favorite things." Alex said, shoving the suitcase to the side. Tobin slowly walked back into her room, pouting. She came back a few moments later with a pile of sweatshirts and sweatpants.

"Don't worry bud, it's the best you've done yet! You usually forget a lot more stuff." Alex wrapped her arms around the midfielder, who smiled and hugged back. "Is that my sweatshirt?" She noticed a navy blue pile on top of Tobin's suitcase.

"Maybe..." Tobin grinned and lifted up the navy "Cal" hoodie.

"It reminds me of you. I wore it all the time when I was hurt, I missed you a lot." she looked down.

Alex leaned over and gave her a hug. "Keep it. I have enough clothes, including a lot of your clothes." She gave Tobin a small kiss on the cheek.

"You almost done? I wanna say goodbye to our friends at the coffee shop," Tobin giggled.

Alex nodded and finished putting her clothes into her suitcase, smiling. Tobin loved the little café that they always went to.

The pair walked across the street from their apartment to the small coffee shop on the corner, and went inside to talk to the baristas and tell them that they were going to be gone for a few weeks.

They got some coffee and then decided to go to the park for awhile, which resulted in meeting some fans and taking photos. They stayed for an hour or two and then Alex called Kelley and Hope to invite them to dinner.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Tobin said quietly as Hope pulled up to the Italian place where the fight had happened the past night.

Hope sighed. "I mean, as long as you guys are comfortable going in... Maybe we can get a private table? In case... y'know, he's here?"

Alex shook her head. "We're okay. After all, this is always gonna be the place where we had our first kiss..." She smiled at Tobin and they got out of the car and headed into the restaurant.

Everything went well, and there was no sign of Servando.

Alex, Tobin, and Kelley gave Hope a hug as she dropped them off, and they walked up the stairs to their apartment.

"I can't believe we're leaving tomorrow morning. I'm gonna miss this place." Tobin sat down on her bed and looked around at the posters and stickers all over her bedroom walls.

"We'll be back soon enough. Victory tour is only a few weeks long, and then we'll be back here. Look at you, our little traveler who never wanted to settle down... You love our home." Alex's raspy voice send a calming feeling through Tobin.

Kelley said goodnight and shut her bedroom door, and Alex gave Tobin a peck on the lips before going into her own room.

Tobin and Alex laid on their beds with a wall between them. Both girls, wide awake, wondering.

They hadn't told anyone besides Hope and Kelley about the kiss. They weren't entirely sure what they were doing, or if they were going to be in a public relationship. They didn't even know if they had decided this was a relationship. Were they just best friends who occasionally sleep together and kiss a lot? That didn't seem like a very good option.

All they knew for sure was that they had fallen in love with one another.

And that was all they needed to know, for now.