Running

Chapter Eight

It took us a while but Ashlyn finally decided on a place. I looked at the sign nand looked at her in a questioning way. "A pizza place? I thought you guys were supposed to eat healthy."

Ashlyn laughed as she opened the door for me to enter. "There is this thing called a cheat day. So I chose today to be mine."

I nodded and walked inside of the restaurant. We were met with a very... stern looking man. "Two adult menus?"

"Yes, please." Ashlyn said to the man. After that we were lead back to the dining area.

"Your waiter will be out shortly." Then the man left.

I picked up the menu and looked at the beverage section. "Hmm, I'm going to get a sweet tea. What about you?"

"A Blue Moon [which is a beer]. Want to share a cheese pan pizza?" The blond asked, looked at me.

"Sure." I answered. Soon enough our waiter came over to out table.

"Hello, my name is Cammie. What drinks can I start you off with?" Cammie asked us.

"She would like a sweet tea and I would like a Blue Moon. And we're ready to order also. We would like a cheese pan pizza." Ashlyn answered for the both of us.

Cammie nodded as he wrote down our order. "Your drinks will be out shortly."

When I saw that he walked off I decided to ask Ashlyn a question that has been nagging at my mind since this morning. "Why did you tell that fan I'm Becky's cousin?"

Ashlyn was going to answer but she looked at the space next to me. "I don't know if Hope wants me to tell you this, but the media and fans don't know you exist."

I kept my eyes on Ashlyn, being a little curious I had to pry a little farther. "Does her family know?"

"I don't know." Ashlyn said, finally making eye contact with me.

I nodded and cracked my knuckles as I looked at the table. "Why are we going out of the country?" I looked up to see that Ashlyn now has a smile on her face.

"There's this thing called the Women's World Cup and this year it's in Canada. And we get to play against the top teams in the world." Ashlyn started, pausing as if already guessing that I have a question.

"Are we a top team?" I ask. I was really hoping we are. It would so cool to have my mom be one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

"Yeah, actually we're number one in the world. And Hope happens to be the best goalkeeper in the world." She said, seeing that Cammie is making his way over with our drinks.

"Wow, that is amazing." I said. My drink was set down in front of me. I was about to take a sip but I stopped myself. "Thank you, Cammie."

He nodded, "Your food will be out shortly."

"Are you one of the best in the world?" I asked, taking a sip of my sweet tea.

"Uh, that's pretty debatable." Ashlyn said after she took a sip of her beer.

I grabbed a napkin and wiped my mouth. "Well, since you're on the best team in the world you must be one of the best." I placed the napkin down next to my sweet tea.

Ashlyn laughed, "I guess. You really should come out one of my games. I can show you around DC and when we play in Maryland. It would be so much fun. And Ali's there too, so yeah."

"I want to! That sounds so cool! What club does Becky play for?"

"FC Kansas City with HAO and a few of the others." Ashlyn replied, before taking another sip of beer.

I asked more questions through the lunch date. It was really fun connecting with Ashlyn. She is like an older sister to me, though I don't know how she feels about me.

We walked out of the restaurant with full stomachs and a smile on out faces. I scratched an itch on my arm, almost running into a lamp post. Ashlyn managed to pull me out of the way, saving me from hurting myself. "Thanks," I said.

Ashlyn just shook her head as we walked. "Anything to stop Hope from yelling at me." It seemed like she couldn't help but snicker at her own comment.

* Eighteen Minutes Later *

I walked into the hotel with Ashlyn pretty much pulling me along. "I just want to sleep." I muttered. For some reason I felt tired, maybe I'm slowly slipping into a food coma.

"God, it seems like I have more energy than a fifteen year old." Ashlyn said, dragging me into an elevator.

"Almost seventeen actually." It just felt right correcting her.

"Same difference." She let go of my wrist as we walked to Hope's room.

I yawned, feeling tired until for some reason I didn't. It was really weird. The door was opened by Carli, a small smile resting on her lips. "Hey." She stepped out of the way to allow us in.