The Wait Is Over

Travel Day

As the only NWSL team flying solo to the inaugural Hollywood Studios Cup, the Boston Breakers scheduled themselves on a non-stop flight, leaving Logan International at 9:50 am and arriving in Orlando at 1:10 pm. Abby is staying behind since she's still on non-contact duty. However, she came to the airport with Sam to see the team off. After kissing her fiancee goodbye and handing out hugs to the rest of the team, she left Logan and went to Jordan Field to do some ball work and lifting.

The Breakers are now on the plane and settling in for the flight. With several seats empty on this trip, Steph and Yael move from their seats to a row near the back of the plane, so as to commiserate in some middle-aged girl talk.

Steph: Why are they having us come in three days ahead of the first game?

Yael: The league is trying to balance out competitive advantages/disadvantages the teams might have relative to weather or jet lag. Everyone being in Orlando on Wednesday allows each team to get two days of training under the same conditions.

Steph: Do you have roommate assignments set?

Yael: Yes. The league, in an effort to keep costs down, are requiring teams to go three-to-a-room and the staff to share accommodations with the players where feasible. With Abby not on the trip, one room will have two, and I'm putting the two of us together, since we'll probably be earlier to bed than the rest of the team. I'm also mixing up players so we don't start establishing little cliques in the squad.

Steph: Can I see the list?

Yael shows Steph the list of roommates.

Rose Lavelle, Libby Stout, and Kayla Duran; Sam Mewis, Jessie Fleming, and Kristen Parry; Devin Schiller, Julie King, and Morgan Andrews; Midge Purce, Caitlyn DiSarcina, and Kyah Simon; Megan Oyster, Brittany Parra, and Jenni Santacaterina; Alyssha Chapman, Machaela George, and Emilie Haavi; Steph Labbe and Yael Averbuch.

Steph: Some interesting pairings here.

Yael: I hope it works the way I want. For the regular season, we should be back to two-to-a-room, and if some of these combos work, I might keep them together.

Steph: Anything new on Project Little West?

Yael: No, and frankly I'm becoming less interested in doing anything about it. Don't get me wrong, I want a baby more than anything, but my sex life with Aaron has become nothing but trying to get pregnant. No passion, no desire, no foreplay, just bang-bang-bang and hope the ingredients find each other.

Steph: Are you charting?

Yael: Yes, but we haven't been lucky in making sure the times I think I'm ovulating coincide with when we're doing it. I really need to get out of this rut, pun intended.

Steph giggles.

Steph: Maybe what you need is a little spark. We'll get to Orlando pretty early today. Let's go out this afternoon, maybe find you some firepower at the mall, have dinner afterwards. Believe me, being alone is a PITA!

Yael laughs at Steph's acronym, then asks her what she means by "firepower".

Steph: Some sexy items that Aaron would be crazy not to want to rip off you if he saw you in them.

Yael: Hmmm. I don't know. I don't feel very confident strutting around in that kind of stuff. Most of it doesn't fit me in the right places and, to tell you the truth, I don't evoke the kind of "heat" to turn someone on in it.

Steph: Don't go dissing yourself like that. For a taller woman, you are fairly attractive. OK, so we don't go for a full lingerie set or a one-piece item. We break it up so that it fits you perfectly where it's supposed to.